Chapter 48 (continued)

Zhong Kun quickly caught up, saying, "Oh, don't be angry. I shouldn't have spoken ill of your senior brothers and sisters..."

Li Yang slowed her pace slightly, and Zhong Kun, seeing an opportunity, eagerly asked, "How exactly did you cultivate? Opening these Star Aperture gets increasingly difficult. The first three are alright, but from the Star Aperture onwards, the difficulty doubles..."

Li Yang stopped and looked at Zhong Kun, saying, "I really don't know. Besides, even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you, just like you wouldn't tell me the cultivation secrets of the Star Combat Department, would you?"

Zhong Kun: "Uh..." He stammered.

Li Yang paused for a moment, then pondered for a moment and said, "However, my teacher treats me very well. Every time I finish talking to her, I feel clear-headed and refreshed, and my cultivation at night is twice as effective."

Zhong Kun listened very attentively, almost to the point of taking notes.

Li Yang stopped there, only hinting at the point. "The monthly exams are coming up soon, I need to go prepare."

Hearing her words, Zhong Kun scoffed, "You're already at the Second Grade Realm, what are you preparing for? You're a sure thing for the top ten."

He gasped, his eyes widening as he exclaimed, "Holy crap, you want to get first place?"

Li Yang didn't say much.

Zhong Kun rushed up in a few steps, excitedly saying, "You can't do it. Lin Zhaoxia is already Second Grade. She's not human, you know? Lin Zhaoqin is almost dying of jealousy because of his cousin! The Lin Family was still wavering, but now they're probably going to take Lin Zhaoxia with them."

"I've seen Lin Zhaoxia's promotion video. She single-handedly destroyed a cult's hideout and brutally killed a leader. I was completely blown away!"

"The main reason is that her Star Skill are too amazing. All five are blue, and it's a combo attack that can deal explosive damage in an instant. The Lin Family even had someone cleanse her Star Aperture and create a growth-type Star Weapon for her. Now she's still working day and night in the combat training room to improve her physique..."

Li Yang knew she would have a formidable opponent in this monthly exam, but she didn't expect Lin Zhaoxia to be so strong.

By the end, she was curious. "Isn't the combat training room time-limited?"

"Oh, you didn't know?"

"?"

"For regular students, there is a time limit, but they can apply for an extension..."

How do I apply?

"That's easy. All you need is a letter of introduction from your mentor, and to give the combat training lab an extra 50 merit points every day."

Li Yang: "..." Money, money, money, money is needed everywhere.

The combat training room is already expensive, costing 10 merit points per hour, and now they're asking for an extra 50 points. They're really obsessed with money.

Zhong Kun added, "Actually, that's nothing. The main thing is that if you keep fighting monsters, you'll need to take Body-Strengthening Pill and Stamina Potion."

Li Yang was taken aback and asked, "What is this?"

"This is a necessary safety measure to prevent students from damaging their foundation if they exert too much force. The combat training room won't extend your stay if you don't take the medication."

Li Yang's lips twitched, and she asked, "These pills, we don't have to buy them in the combat training room, do we?"

"Yes, yes, yes."

"How much?"

"Not expensive, 50 merit points each."

Li Yang: "..."

She forced back the pain in her heart and asked, "Is two pills a day enough?"

"How is that possible? Two per hour."

Li Yang: "..." This isn't cultivation, it's burning money!

Zhong Kun added, "Lin Zhaoxia is too ruthless. She spends at least ten hours a day in the combat training room."

Li Yang did a rough calculation.

The base cost for 10 hours is 100 merit points.

Including the application fee of 50 merit points, and deducting the original 4 hours for the cost of the pills, it should be 600 merit points.

Li Yang broke down.

She's going to fight these rich people to the death!

Lin Zhaoxia was strong, but what's more, she was also very rich, which undoubtedly aroused Li Yang's fighting spirit and made her determined to get first place in the monthly exam.

Of course, the biggest reason was that Li Yang couldn't bear the exorbitant cost of the combat training room.

The crops smell so good.

Like the mutant wheat, she could steadily earn money every day for 600 years without spending a single penny.

If she wanted to earn 600 years' worth of merit points in a single day in this practical training lab, she would have to spend at least 500 merit points.

Li Yang had just earned over two thousand merit points from reselling Star-Attracting Pill, thinking it would be enough, but now... it's not even enough for her to spend a few days in the training room.

Zhong Kun chuckled again as he thought about it, saying, "It would be so interesting if you could really beat Lin Zhaoxia."

Li Yang looked at him.

Zhong Kun cleared his throat and said, "You really do have a chance. After all, you're both at the Second Grade. Her Physique Points is at most 500 points, while yours is 470. As for Star Skill... well, you should buy three more blue Star Skill, and it would be best to get a blue Star Weapon..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Yang had already turned around and headed towards the trading area.

She definitely needs Star Skill; currently, out of her four Star Skills, only "Light Blade" is an offensive skill, which is simply not enough.

I need to keep both Hidden Shadow and Bark. The other three Star Skill can be used to create a combo, but I don't know if I have enough money to buy the right Star Skill.

The price of blue Star Core is fixed, but the price of blue Star Skill is not.

Identifying Star Core is similar to gambling on jade.

Even among blue stones, the resulting "stones" vary greatly.

Some useless blue Star Skill might not even be worth 100 points, while those with strong combat capabilities or special attributes—like Hidden Shadow —can fetch thousands of merit points.

Zhong Kun followed her all the way and asked, "Are you going to buy Star Skill?"

Li Yang: "Mm."

"I was just joking, don't take it seriously..." Zhong Kun reassured her, "Lin Zhaoxia's Star Skill are directly passed down in our Star Combat Department, with the support of suitable cultivation techniques, unlike ordinary blue Star Skill..."

"Besides, what will happen when your Nature Department's Tree Tower opens after you learn Star Skill now? Forgetting blue Star Skill is incredibly difficult. What if you enter the Tree Tower but can't comprehend Star Skill? Wouldn't that be a huge loss?"

"So what if I get first place in a mere month's exam? Oh, I can go to the Star Ash Mystic Realm, but that's just for accelerating cultivation. We low-level cultivators already cultivate very quickly, so it's not very meaningful for us..."

Zhong Kun tried his best to persuade her, but Li Yang's mind was already made up.

The two quickly arrived at the trading post. Li Yang glanced at her balance; she had previously traded Star-Attracting Pill twice, and now had a total of 2775 merit points.

These achievements are truly numerous, but Li Yang is already starting to worry that they won't be enough.

If she can successfully find a suitable blue Star Core, which is worth 500 merit points each, that would be 1500 merit points.

Blue Star Weapon are quite expensive, starting at least at 500 merit points, which is over 2,000 merit points.

Next, Li Yang will have to spend 7 days training in the combat training room, averaging 600 merit points per day... What's the use of that little bit of money? 3000 more would be more like it!

The trading floor was crowded.

The Star-Attracting Pill 47 points each, had previously alarmed many students at the Second Grade Realm. They were all waiting at the trading area, hoping to snag another bargain.

Zhong Kun was still calculating the costs for Li Yang, saying, "Think about it, you'll have to spend at least three thousand merit points this time..."

His words came to an abrupt end.

It wasn't because of the astonished looks from those around him, but because Zhong Kun remembered that Li Yang was no longer short of money.

Three thousand merits is a large sum of money for Zhong Kun, a rich second-generation.

But for Li Yang right now, isn't it just selling pills for a day?

"Hey, I know you're not short of money... and you don't care about a mere three thousand merit points." Zhong Kun tried a different approach to persuade her, "But you also have to consider the possibility of forgetting your Star Skill. Are you going to spend the next few years guarding a few worthless blue Star Skill?"

Zhong Kun had a loud voice, and with so many people in the trading area, those who heard him were staring at the two of them as if they were monsters, whispering among themselves—

"Holy crap, where did these young lady and young master come from?!"

"You don't even care about a mere three thousand meritorious officials?"

"Blue Star Skill are... trash?"

"Damn it, I'll fight these rich guys to the death sooner or later!"

Li Yang walked straight through the crowd and stopped at an empty machine. Zhong Kun followed, along with a group of onlookers.

Zhong Kun said, "I'll take you to the private room on the second floor."

Li Yang: "..." So there's a second floor, and private rooms too.

Not only was Li Yang surprised, but the students watching were even more surprised.

As expected of a seasoned second-generation rich kid, Zhong Kun led Li Yang up to the second floor with ease, where a staff member immediately greeted them and arranged for them to go to an empty private room.

After the two sat down, the staff brought them drinks and refreshments.

Li Yang asked warily, "There's no extra charge for the private rooms, right?"

Zhong Kun said, "As long as your spending is over two thousand, there will be no extra charge for the private room."

Li Yang: "..." Fine, she'll have to spend at least two thousand.

The private room was empty, but Zhong Kun still wanted to persuade her, "It's my fault for being so talkative, I shouldn't have joked like that, Li Yang, please..."

"It's none of your business." Li Yang knew Zhong Kun's personality; he spoke faster than he thought, but he had a really good heart.

Zhong Kun followed along because he was afraid that Li Yang's future would be ruined by his sudden whim.

Zhong Kun continued, "These few thousand merit points aren't a problem; you can even buy a Star Weapon if you want. The only thing that's a problem is these blue Star Skill..."

Li Yang said, "I asked the teacher, and she said it's alright."

Zhong Kun: "???"

Li Yang's words were vague, but the ambiguity was just right, firmly fixing Zhong Kun in place.

Zhong Kun was stunned for a while before he reacted. His mind was filled with thoughts like. "Holy crap, this is Half-Step Supreme?!"

That "It's alright" is incredibly valuable!

Could it be that this Dean Si... can teach Li Yang to quickly forget blue Star Skill?