If he wanted to rapidly improve his cultivation, he could only resort to the Yin Yang Wooden Graph.
Only when the Yin Yang Wooden Graph absorbed enough Origin of Wood Spirit Qi, would the sacred prime tree be able to grow enough to hold up the inner world of the graph.
The time of internal space in the Yin Yang Wooden Graph was greatly different from that of the external world. Ten days inside was equal to one day outside.
In other words, if Zhang Ruochen could enter the Yin Yang Wooden Graph, his cultivation would speed up ten times.
“Tomorrow, I’ll go to the Book Collection Pavilion in the Saint Academy and find some books. I can probably find an Inferior Primitive World with a lot of Origin of Wood Spirit Qi.”
While considering the way to enhance his cultivation, Zhang Ruochen moved forward. He left the bamboo forest.
Nie Honglou stood outside the bamboo forest. When he saw Zhang Ruochen come out alone, he asked, “Where’s the predecessor?”
“She’s gone!” Zhang Ruochen answered.
Nie Honglou said, “Zhang Ruochen, I’m about to leave. Tomorrow when you enter the Saint Academy, I’ll go away.”
Over the past half a month, Nie Honglou had protected Zhang Ruochen at all times. Wherever Zhang Ruochen went, Nie Honglou would follow. He protected him wholeheartedly.
It was quite amazing for such a top master like him to make it this far.
Zhang Ruochen did not intend to persuade him to stay. After all, Nie Honglou also needed to practice. He still had his own path of cultivation. It was impossible for him to spend all his time on Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen thought about it for a moment. He took out a jade box and passed it to Nie Honglou. He laughed. “Over the last two weeks, if not for your protection, I would have been assassinated by masters of the Black Market. Brother Nie, you must accept this gift.”
Nie Honglou was a powerhouse at the Sixth Change of the Fish-dragon Realm. His cultivation was much higher than Zhang Ruochen’s. He was too proud to accept Zhang Ruochen’s gift.
Just as he was going to turn it down, he suddenly stopped and observed a strange fluctuation in the box.
Was there an amazing treasure inside?
Curiously, Nie Honglou took the box and opened it.
Inside was a smooth black spinel with a thin layer of vapor. Using Spiritual Power to search, he found that pure Spiritual Qi of water was contained in the black spinel.
“This…this is the Black Glazed Spinel, one of the Five Elements Spirit Treasures, right?” Nie Honglou widened his eyes.
Zhang Ruochen nodded. “Yes.”
If it were any other treasure, Nie Honglou would definitely refuse it. But since it was a Black Glazed Spinel, there was no way he could turn it down.
He licked his lips, shook his head, and laughed. “Zhang Ruochen, you are making me owe you on purpose.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “If you don’t want it, I’ll take it back.”
“Yes, I definitely want it.”
Without hesitation, Nie Honglou took the Black Glazed Spinel.
With the Black Glazed Spinel, he could shorten his cultivation by ten years. It would be ludicrous to refuse such a treasure.
With the help of the Black Glazed Spinel, Nie Honglou was very confident that he would make further progress and realize the Seventh Change in the Fish-dragon Realm within a short time.
“Well, since you’ve given me this Black Glazed Spinel, I’ll protect you for another two weeks.” Nie Honglou did not want to owe him and intended to pay it back quickly.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Brother Nie, don’t hesitate. I am giving you the Black Glazed Spinel merely for being friend. I don’t mean anything else. Moreover, I am going to the Saint Academy tomorrow, so I don’t need your protection anymore.”
Nie Honglou laughed. “You really think that you’ll be completely safe once you enter the Saint Academy? The competition within the Saint Academy is more fierce than that in the external world. In particular, senior students take delight in bullying new students. And, descendants of Saint Gentries take delight in teasing juniors from humble families.”
“You rank first among the new students, so you’re in the teeth of the storm. Many people will want to achieve instant fame by bullying you.”
“With your strength, you don’t need to be afraid of any warriors at the Heaven Realm. However, you can’t deal with specially privileged people. They won’t dare kill you, but they can humiliate you. It’s hard to gain a firm foothold in the Saint Academy.”
Zhang Ruochen stared at Nie Honglou. “Why do you know the Saint Academy so well? Are you also a saint at the Saint Academy?”
“Sort of! But, I haven’t been back for more than ten years. Many people might have forgotten me,” Nie Honglou joked.
Why had Nie Honglou joined the Mercenary Group to carry out risky tasks, instead of practicing in the Saint Academy?
Zhang Ruochen did not ask this question. After all, everyone had their own choices. Nie Honglou probably thought it would be more helpful to experience the Mercenary Group than to practice in the Saint Academy.
Zhang Rouchen returned to the Martial Market Courier Station, and then brought Concubine Lin, Kong Xuan, Blackie, Han Xue, and the monster ape to the Half-saint mansion to help them settle in.
Si Xingkong, Chang Qiqi, Duanmu Xingling, and the others were saints at the Saint Academy, so they could live in the Saint Academy houses. It was unnecessary for them to live in Zhang Ruochen’s mansion.
Zhang Ruochen did not go to bed until midnight.
With his current cultivation, he would not be tired, even if went without rest for ten to fifteen days. However, it was relaxing to sleep.
If a person was too stressed and exhausted, it was bad for cultivation.
The next morning, Zhang Ruochen got up and practiced sword technique before the day broke.
The Martial arts field of the Half-saint mansion was broad. It was 50 meters long and 40 meters wide. At its edge, a level five defense strategy was arranged. Zhang Ruochen was not worried about others getting injured accidentally by his sword breath.
He practiced sword techniques for an hour.
Finally, the sun rose. The sun’s rays broke through the clouds and illuminated the earth.
Zhang Ruochen’s robe was completely soaked with sweat.
He went back to the room and put on a military uniform specially made by the Saint Academy. He grabbed a token, walked out of the mansion, and went to the Saint Academy.
The military uniform of the Saint Academy was golden. Because it was knitted with specially made gold threads, it could not be damaged by ordinary knives or swords. It was comparable to a Level Six Genuine Martial Arms.
In the Martial Market Bank, only a golden-robed Elder was qualified to wear such a golden uniform.
In other words, a saint could enjoy the same treatment a golden-robed Elder did.
If a saint ranked among the top 100 on the Heaven Board, he or she could wear a purple robe and enjoy the even better treatment.
When Zhang Ruochen arrived at the Saint Academy, ornate carriages were parked inside and outside the building. All the young warriors getting out of the carriages were specially privileged people at the Heaven Realm.
This time, a total of 13,478 students were becoming saints. Thus, the Saint Academy was overcrowded with people and vehicles on the first day of school. Boys and girls could be seen chatting everywhere. It was full of youth and vigor.
Zhang Ruochen saw a familiar beautiful figure in the crowd. The figure was tall and long-legged. It was Huang Yanchen.
Huang Yanchen also wore a golden robe and had tied a belt around her slender waist. The belt was gold inlaid with jade. It accentuated her curvy figure. Her royal blue hair hung down behind her like a waterfall. The front of her hair was drawn into a bun and fixed with a jade hairpin.
When she walked down from her gorgeous carriage, many young warriors were attracted by her beautiful appearance. .
“Gorgeous. Who is she?”
A young saint held a folding fan and stared at Huang Yanchen with a look of obsession.
“She’s from the Chens of East Region Saint Mansions. You’d better stop dreaming. She’s engaged to an amazing fiance.”
The young saint shook the fan, looking handsome and natural. He said in a haughty tone, “How amazing is he? If they aren’t married yet, I’ll be able to take her.”
“Haha! Her fiance is Zhang Ruochen, one of the kings of the new generation of the Eastern Region. How do you dare to take his woman with your cultivation? Can you resist his ten strikes?”
“What? Her fiance is Zhang Ruochen.” The young saint’s face changed, and he stopped coveting Huang Yanchen. He was no match for Zhang Ruochen.
Huang Yanchen felt a familiar aura. She immediately turned back and looked. At just the right moment, she made eye contact with her fiancée.
“Zhang Ruochen, you’ve become more and more famous. Have you already fought several hundred times in the Coliseum of the Martial Market? Do you want to fight with me? I’m curious about how many strikes I can resist. ”
Huang Yanchen straightened her chest and looked frosty. She walked towards Zhang Ruochen, who was being envied by a group of saints.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Senior sister apprentice Yanchen, why bother? If you’re confident in your strength, you can go to the Coliseum of the Martial Market and challenge all the masters.”
“Do you think that I’m not qualified to be your opponent?” she asked.
He smiled. “Senior sister apprentice, if you want to fight with me, I have no objection. However, today is the first day of school, so we’ll have a lot of things to do. We’d better have a fight later. Right?”
Huang Yanchen nodded. “Okay! Let’s sign up for the Sword Technique Department first.”
This year, the Sword Technique Department had recruited a total of 6,000 saints. It had the largest number of people. It was divided into a hundred groups, with 60 saints per group.
According to the three rounds of assessment results, they were ranked from the top down.
All the students ranked in the top 600 were in the Half-saint groups, that is to say, ten Half-saint groups.
Low-ranking students were divided into Fish-dragon groups, that is to say, 90 Fish-dragon groups.
In the so-called half-saint group, saints were imparted with the way of practice by Half-saints.
In the so-called Fish-dragon group, saints were imparted with the way of practice by practitioners of the Fish-dragon Realm.
All the instructors at the Fish-dragon Realm were top-notch masters above the Seventh Change in the Fish-dragon Realm. But in comparison with Half-saints, they were inferior.
Therefore, it was a great honor for the saints to enter the Half-saint group. If they performed well enough, they would have the chances to become descendants of half-saints.