Chapter 32 (continued)

Seeing that Si Kui was about to get angry, Niu Qianqian quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "You might have forgotten that the 'Tree Tower' requires a team to enter, and there are age restrictions for each level. In your Agronomy Department, only Xiao Li is under twenty and has reached the First Grade Realm, right? She definitely can't go alone. Why don't you go in with the Star Magic Department's team? It's both safe and efficient."

Niu Qianqian immediately added, "I'll talk to Dean Shen and ask them to take good care of Xiao Li, and also to have them allocate the most suitable Star Core to her..."

Si Kui remained unmoved. "And then?"

Niu Qianqian said, "To get back to the 'Tree Tower,' we need to proceed gradually. The first step is... to let everyone know that the 'Tree Tower' originally belonged to the Agronomy Department..."

Her words gave Si Kui some ideas. After pondering for a moment, Si Kui said, "How about this, you have the Star Magic Department activate the 'Tree Tower' tomorrow."

Niu Qianqian: "Ah... this..."

Si Kui said, "Don't play dumb with me, I'm going to let her in tomorrow." She meant what she said; since she had promised Li Yang to go to the Tree Tower tomorrow, she couldn't possibly wait a week. How could she go back on her word to the students?

Niu Qianqian gritted her teeth and said, "Okay, a week earlier isn't a problem."

Si Kui added, "The Star Core obtained after entering will be divided equally."

Upon hearing this, Niu Qianqian was overjoyed and said, "No problem! It should be divided equally!"

Si Kui glanced at her and said, "I meant, the two departments will divide it equally."

"Ah?"

"Not based on the number of students, but evenly distributed among departments."

Niu Qianqian realized what was happening and said, "But the Star Magic Department has more people and contributes more. Xiao Li is just going along for a short while, and if that takes up half of the resources..."

"Never mind then," Si Kui said. "I'll go retrieve the items belonging to the Agronomy Department, and then take Li Yang to the Astral Realm!"

Niu Qianqian: "..."

She was genuinely afraid that Si Kui would overturn the table. The fact that she had been able to endure this long was already beyond many people's expectations, and now she had even taken on a disciple. Everything seemed to be going well, and she couldn't afford to let anything else go wrong.

Niu Qianqian said, "Okay! I'll go and talk to them. It's nothing serious, no big deal!"

Si Kui didn't bother looking at Niu Qianqian anymore, and she quickly returned to the Agronomy Department.

Li Yang was already asleep; she turned over and kicked the blanket off.

Si Kui stared at her quietly for a while. Li Yang seemed to sense something and sat up abruptly. "Who!"

Si Kui said, "If you were an enemy, you would already be buried in peace."

Li Yang, still half asleep, saw her teacher and breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Teacher, why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night...?"

Do I still need to sleep?

"But I need it..." Li Yang mumbled, but obediently got up, grabbed her coat and put it on, looking at Si Kui expectantly, and said, "Teacher, what's wrong?"

Si Kui pondered for a moment, then said, "Tree Tower..."

Li Yang's eyes lit up, and she asked, "Are you coming back?"

"No."

"Oh..."

"It's not that I can't get it back, but..." Si Kui glanced at her four faint Star Aperture and shut up in annoyance.

Li Yang asked curiously, "Teacher, where is our Tree Tower now?"

"Star Magic Department."

"Hmm, so they don't want to pay it back?"

Si Kui immediately retorted, "I don't care whether they want it or not, it's only right that I get my things back!"

"There's no such thing as a matter of course... it's just a matter of who has the bigger fist." Seeing Si Kui raise an eyebrow, Li Yang added, "Of course the teacher's fist is bigger, but you can't fight four hands with two fists. Besides, there are us burdens who will seriously hinder the teacher's performance."

Li Yang had figured out her teacher's personality and was quite adept at smoothing things over, which made Si Kui's expression much more relaxed.

Li Yang then asked, "Teacher, could you tell me more about this Tree Tower?"

Si Kui paused for a moment, then briefly explained, "This is a Seventh Grade secret treasure. It's made by the seniors of the Agronomy Department specifically for the juniors. It has three layers, each corresponding to a realm. As long as you place Star Plant of the same realm inside to nurture them, they will develop Star Core after a period of time..."

Li Yang's eyes sparkled as she listened.

What a treasure!

It's important to know that Star Core are only produced in the Astral Realm. Mutated creatures in quarantine zones don't have Star Core, and the Astral Realm is extremely dangerous. Star Wielders below the Third Grade don't even have the proper qualifications to enter.

However, the "Tree Tower" solved this problem.

For high-ranking Star Wielders, First Grade- to Third Grade Astral Realm creatures are as easy as catching chicks; they can easily fill the Tree Tower.

Astral Realm creatures don't always drop Star Core; judging from the data on the forums, it's considered good if one out of ten will drop a Star Core.

However, the Star Plant thrown into the Tree Tower can be slowly nurtured into Star Core. Although they are not guaranteed to fall, the yield is much higher than that of the Astral Realm. Most importantly, they are much safer.

Thinking of the potential risks of taking the Realm-Breaking Pill, Li Yang asked, "Teacher, are there any risks associated with buying appraised Star Core from the trading post to comprehend Star Skill?"

"There aren't any hidden dangers, but the compatibility is very low," Si Kui explained to her. "Most excellent Star Skill are bound to their master. Unless you participate in the kill, even if you buy this Star Core, you won't be able to fully master the Star Skill within it."

So that's how it is. Li Yang remembered the system notification she received after killing the cultists... Could it be that she was "Hidden Shadow" recognized as her master? But she had never heard of anything that could strip Star Wielders of their Star Skill, so Li Yang left the matter aside.

This Tree Tower is a real treasure, and it's also quite heartwarming.

Tree Tower are of little use to Star Wielders of Third Grade or above, but the difficulty of creating Tree Tower is extremely high; otherwise, they wouldn't be considered Master- level treasures.

Such a huge expense was all for the purpose of better nurturing younger generations with lower levels of expertise... The Agronomy Department used to be quite humane.

Li Yang then realized something and said, "No wonder the teaching assistant of the Star Magic Department said that I could comprehend rare Star Skill..." He probably meant that she was given a spot to enter the Tree Tower.

Si Kui said coldly, "Bullshit! They don't understand Tree Tower at all!"

"How so?" Li Yang looked at Si Kui and asked, "Teacher, since this Tree Tower belongs to our Agronomy Department, isn't there an instruction manual or something?" Just like the Agronomy Department's land management manual.

"Of course there is." Si Kui then explained the situation to her, "I don't want to fall out with Shen Binghua right now, so I only asked them for a spot. You can go in with the people from the Star Magic Department tomorrow."

Si Kui felt aggrieved by these words, but Li Yang didn't think anything of it. She was always flexible and nodded, saying, "Well, no rush. It's been almost thirty years. I doubt anyone remembers which department the Tree Tower originally belonged to."

That's not all; the young teachers didn't even know there was an Agronomy Department at the school. Of course, Li Yang didn't dare say this, for fear of angering the teachers.

Si Kui paused for a moment, feeling that her elementary school student was thinking the same way as that Niu Laoqian. No... impossible. Niu Laoqian was a cunning old fox, while her elementary school student was only eighteen years old, a pure and lovely age.

Then, her innocent and adorable student made a surprising statement. "Teacher, please tell me the correct way to use the Tree Tower. I'll record the whole thing when we go inside tomorrow... By the way, can you record videos Tree Tower?"

Si Kui: "..."

She said, "No need for video recording. The Tree Tower will automatically record the three most recent entries so that teachers can lead students in a review and summary later."

Li Yang asked, "Then is this record in the Star Magic Department?"

"Inside the Tree Tower," Si Kui said, "But Shen Binghua doesn't have the authority to use these functions of the Tree Tower."

So, only you can access it?

"Um."

"That makes things easier!" Li Yang said. "Here's what I'll do: tomorrow I'll go inside the Tree Tower and demonstrate the correct way to use it, so the whole school can see who this Tree Tower truly belongs to!"

Although Si Kui wanted to simply and brutally take it, she knew that the cost of doing so would be too high, and that she needed to do it legitimately.

Fists aren't that effective against Shen Binghua; they need to occupy the moral high ground.

Once everyone clearly understands that the Tree Tower belongs to the Agronomy Department, Shen Binghua will be forced to hand it over under pressure.

Si Kui simply doesn't like getting involved in their messy affairs. If things really get serious, she'd like to see who the other old guys on the board of directors will side with.

Do they really think Si Kui is a pushover?

If she's forced to flip the table, then nobody can expect a peaceful life!

Li Yang urged again, "Teacher, please tell me quickly, how is this Tree Tower used?"

"Gather the monsters and kill them all."

"Ah?"

"As long as a junior from the Agronomy Department goes in, it will naturally trigger the Star Plant inside. After you go in, run three laps around the field to activate all the Star Plant you can see, and then focus fire on them with your teammates to take them down."

Li Yang trembled as she listened and asked, "Teacher, is that Star Plant the real Star Plant? Will it eat people?"

"Nonsense."

"They don't eat people?"

"Eat."

"..."

After a long silence, Li Yang chickened out and whispered, "Teacher, I think we should think this over carefully..."

"There are no cowards among my Si Kui. You have to go tomorrow, whether you like it or not."

"Teacher! I only have one attack Star Skill, and you're already complaining about it so much... How am I qualified to gather monsters? I'm going to get devoured alive by the Star Plant!"

Si Kui: "..."

She said speechlessly, "You're too weak."

Li Yang was speechless. "I'm only eighteen, I'm still a child!"

Si Kui thought for a moment, then stood up and said, "Forget it, I'm too lazy to bother with all this nonsense. I'll just go blow up the Star Magic Department, take back the Tree Tower, and take you to escape to the Astral Realm."

Li Yang: "!!!"

The sheer volume of information nearly overwhelmed her.

Lady Sunflower must be joking, right? She must be joking. How could a human being say something like that?