Shanhai Academy.

Atop a Sword Peak, Yan Feng sat solemnly before a stone sword several meters tall, setting down his smartphone with a sigh.

“Fengzi, during the entrance exam, did you really fight to a standstill with that guy from the Refining Department?”

Beside Yan Feng, a male and a female student sat, one of them asking incredulously.

Today, it was their turn to sharpen their sword qi in front of the stone sword. After completing their exercises, they had watched the live broadcast of the Minor Red Heaven duels that had just been pushed to their phones.

“Believe it or not, it’s up to you. You can search online for the entrance exam videos from Danxia City that year, find the semi-final match; that was our peak showdown.”

Initially, Yan Feng was very dissatisfied with his loss to Chen Mobai. He came to Shanhai Academy, the number one sword cultivation academy, with the determination to master earth-shattering sword techniques and prove that he should have been Danxia City’s number one that year.

You see, at that time, Yan Feng’s scores were enough to enter any of the top four academies. If he had been the top duelist in the entrance exam, he could have chosen any of them.

Not just him, but Gong Xiangyu, and even Kong Feichen and Yang Jing.

Any one of the four Qi Refining ninth-level cultivators could have replaced Chen Mobai and become the pride of the top four academies.

That’s why every genius who lost to Chen Mobai that year was filled with resentment, unwillingness, and defiance.

They all believed that they didn’t lose because the opponent was too strong, but because they made serious mistakes during the duel, which were then exploited by the opponent to turn the tables.

If given another chance, both Yan Feng and Gong Xiangyu believed they could win with absolute certainty.

Even Kong Feichen thought a few years ago that if it hadn’t been for Yang Jing’s insistence on going to the finals, if it had been him dueling Chen Mobai, he had several ways to win.

However, this thought wavered after the news of Chen Mobai’s Foundation Establishment.

Although they were students of the top ten academies, they all entered with academy scores and were treated as core students from the start, with critical techniques imparted to them. Before Foundation Establishment, the resources and techniques they received were basically comparable to those of academy students.

That’s why they knew just how difficult Foundation Establishment was.

Kong Feichen, with the best talent, initially failed at Foundation Establishment due to inner demons.

Yan Feng and Gong Xiangyu only grasped the critical techniques last year, and have now reached the stage of condensing qi into liquid. Even so, their progress was already close to the average of the top four academies.

By Yan Feng’s own estimate, he should be able to succeed at Foundation Establishment by next year.

Knowing the difficulty of Foundation Establishment, their internal assessment of Chen Mobai, who had already succeeded, began to change.

Maybe he was the true genius.

Yan Feng even wondered if during the entrance exam, was it because his talent was better and he had more resources, so he was able to barely match Chen Mobai due to his higher realm?

That’s when he began to doubt himself.

And not long ago, when Minor Red Heaven opened and Chen Mobai, as the top student of the Refining Department, swept through the early and middle stages of Foundation Establishment cultivators, Yan Feng confirmed his thoughts.

Yes, that’s it!

Gong Xiangyu, who felt he was robbed of his love, lost all his fighting spirit after seeing Chen Mobai defeat Lu Qiulong.

“Wu Dai He Shan Feng Yue”

As a student of the True Spirit Academy, he knew all too well the weight behind the name Lu Qiulong.

He was the genius most likely to form his Elemental Infant in their academy in a hundred years.

And for the others, there was no need to mention.

After seeing Chen Mobai officially break Ancestor Yuan Yang’s winning streak, Yan Feng’s thoughts changed again.

【Back then, I actually pushed that dueling champion to the brink, only allowing him to narrowly defeat me with one move!】

If previously Yan Feng felt ashamed for losing to Chen Mobai and not being able to go to the top four academies, now he only felt fortunate.

“There really is one.”

At this moment, the female classmate beside him had already found the entrance exam duel video from Danxia City that year, locating the peak showdown of the semi-final between Yan Feng and Chen Mobai.

“You actually used a Tianxin Sword Talisman, you wastrel!”

The female classmate, Yan Feng’s girlfriend at Shanhai Academy, stared wide-eyed after watching, almost fainting from heartache.

“What, you used a Tianxin Sword Talisman and still couldn’t achieve invincibility in Qi Refining?!”

Another male classmate exclaimed in disbelief after hearing this, looking at Yan Feng with incredulous eyes.

“What do you know? That’s the dueling champion; his talent in combat is monstrous. Any slight mistake and his eyes that see through all flaws will catch it, leading to defeat.”

Yan Feng retorted, stubbornly defending himself.

“Well, that’s true, after all, your opponent at that time was him.”

The male classmate turned his gaze to the live broadcast of Minor Red Heaven on the smartphone screen, nodding after seeing the handsome youth in the red and black robe.

The title “Dueling Champion” was a nickname spread by Chen Mobai’s opponents from the Danxia City entrance exam.

They were scattered across various academies of the Immortal Gate, and now with Minor Red Heaven being the hottest topic, it quickly became common knowledge.

The Taoist master in red robes sitting in Danxia City could never have imagined that a casually praised title had now become Chen Mobai’s moniker.

The cafeteria of the Natural Academy.

Yan Bingxuan, who sat alone in a corner eating, put down her chopsticks with rice grains on her lips and revealed a stunningly beautiful smile upon seeing Chen Mobai break the record.

This caused many male students at the neighboring table to be dazzled.

She was so radiant when she smiled!

Mending the Sky Division.

Qing Nv watched the triumphant handsome youth on the screen. Since Kong Feichen and Yang Jing left, her indifferent eyes revealed a hint of pride she herself hadn’t noticed.

Zhong Liyi, sitting beside her, saw this and pondered with a thoughtful expression on her face.

Chen Mobai was completely unaware of this. After breaking the record, he immediately logged off.

“Teacher, mission accomplished.”

In the office, after opening his eyes, he spoke to Che Yucheng.

“Good, now you can rest for a while and focus on using the Spiritual Weapon Co-cultivation Technique to improve your cultivation of the Pure Yang Scripture. The Refining Department just refined a pool of second-order Spirit Water for replenishing qi. Go and get a hundred doses; I’ve already spoken to Luo Hezheng.”

Che Yucheng looked at his disciple with satisfaction.

“Thank you, Teacher.”

Chen Mobai was also very pleased.

In the Immortal Gate, alchemy with water methods was considered superior, and “Spirit Water for replenishing qi” was the best-selling spirit water in all pharmacies.

This spirit water had a simple composition, with three main medicinal spirit plants that were easy to obtain. Depending on the grade of the main and auxiliary medicines, it could be refined up to third-order.

However, the four auxiliary medicines were industrialized spirit materials. First-order was manageable, and small workshops could produce them, but second-order and above could only be made by large pharmaceutical factories.

Coincidentally, among the six major pharmaceutical factories of the Immortal Gate: Jinzhan, Lingxiao, Guangbai, Chanyi, Shanglu, and Kongqing, “Guangbai” belonged to the Refining Department.

The person in charge of Guangbai Pharmaceutical Factory was Luo Hezheng, the logistics director of the academy.

Every student in the academy had dealt with Luo Hezheng. At the end of each year, they would exchange their study points for elixirs and other spiritual items from him.

Normally, students could only receive rewards and make exchanges at the end of the term.

But with Che Yucheng’s intervention, it was a different story.

“Sign here.”

Luo Hezheng’s office was also in Building One. Chen Mobai went straight down and found Luo Hezheng already waiting for him. Upon his arrival, Luo Hezheng handed him a large bottle equivalent to one liter of Spirit Water for replenishing qi.

Each dose of Spirit Water for replenishing qi was about 10 milliliters. Since Chen Mobai was taking a large amount, Luo Hezheng didn’t bother with small vials and gave him a large bottle instead. Chen Mobai weighed it and felt it was slightly more than a liter.

Perhaps Luo Hezheng was a bit generous on account of Che Yucheng.

“Thank you, Teacher Luo.”

Chen Mobai happily accepted and signed his name on a receipt form.

He glanced at the reason for the receipt, which read: “Reward for bringing honor to the academy and completing the task assigned by the dean.”

How did it involve the dean again?

In his life, Chen Mobai had never met the Elemental Infant master in person, although he had seen the master’s image in video materials. If given the chance, he still wanted to meet him in person.

After all, a cultivator who had formed his Elemental Infant was almost a demi-god.

It was practically the endpoint for mortal Qi Refining cultivators.

“Drink no more than one dose every three days, use it sparingly. If it weren’t for this batch just being refined, it would have been snatched up already.”

Luo Hezheng reminded him. The second-order Spirit Water for replenishing qi contained far purer spiritual energy than the first-order, and with Chen Mobai’s current cultivation level, it would take three days to refine one dose.

“Teacher Luo, can I purchase some more myself?”

After storing the large bottle, Chen Mobai shamelessly inquired.

“That won’t do. I value fairness and justice in my work. If all the resources were taken by you geniuses, what chance would the lower-level cultivators have?”

Luo Hezheng shook his head, refusing to agree.

Chen Mobai’s performance in the Minor Red Heaven brought glory to the academy, and Che Yucheng’s request to reward him with a hundred doses of Spirit Water for replenishing qi was justified, which Luo Hezheng had no objections to.

But apart from Chen Mobai, there were other teachers in the academy who had worked hard and were waiting for this batch of Spirit Water for replenishing qi.

After the pre-arranged shares were distributed, the remaining Spirit Water for replenishing qi wouldn’t be kept until the end of the term for student exchanges but would be listed online at the start of the term in the Refining Department’s flagship store and at Guangbai pharmacies offline.

If there were leftovers in stock, they would be available for student exchanges at the end of the term.

But that was unlikely, as these items would be snatched up within two or three days once listed.

Mainly because every Foundation Establishment cultivator could use it, and the price was affordable. A second-order low-grade dose cost 20,000 Good Deeds, so that people could afford it.

Not to mention other academies, but at least the Refining Department had always insisted on allocating part of the resources to lower-level cultivators for the past five thousand years, ensuring there was room for mobility between the upper and lower levels of the Immortal Gate.

If students from the academy wanted Spirit Water for replenishing qi, they could either collect materials for the Refining Department to make it, or they could know the listing date and wait to snatch it up.

Luo Hezheng could only turn a blind eye to this, as the flagship stores of the Immortal Gate’s academies online all limited the quantity each person could buy, ensuring that at least some would enter the market.

After thanking Luo Hezheng again, Chen Mobai left Building One with the large bottle of second-order Spirit Water for replenishing qi.

The value of this bottle wasn’t high, roughly equivalent to 10 study points.

However, most items that could be exchanged for study points in the academy were of great value for money, and every student lamented not having enough study points.

After all, the academy’s storeroom contained many more elixirs and miraculous medicines with better cost-effectiveness than Spirit Water for replenishing qi.

For example, the “Huan Shen Dan” Chen Mobai exchanged at the end of last year.

Also priced at 10 study points, it brought his Divine Command Art to near perfection, definitely more valuable than Spirit Water for replenishing qi.

Previously, Chen Mobai didn’t focus on breaking through his cultivation level with increased spiritual energy because the Pure Yang Scripture hadn’t reached Foundation Establishment, and the Longevity Sect had a faster way to advance, so he didn’t focus on it.

Now that he had heard of Foundation Establishment and obtained the Fire Spirit Body, with the Spiritual Weapon Co-cultivation Technique, the bottlenecks between realms were easier to break through than for ordinary people, making Spirit Water for replenishing qi particularly crucial.

The experience of dueling in the Minor Red Heaven made Chen Mobai acutely aware of his low realm.

He felt a bit unworthy of his teacher, Qingping Shangren.

If he were at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment now, there would be no need to bully the weak; he could have dominated the higher-level matches directly.

He wouldn’t have needed Lan Haitian’s help to suppress Xiahou Weihuan and Sima Xingyu from the Pure Yang Academy.

Thinking about this, Chen Mobai finally remembered his original purpose for participating in the exchange meeting.

“The exchange meeting? It’s going on as usual, right on that square we first visited. Besides the fourteen universities from Red City Cave Heaven, there are also three major academies and nine major academies invited. Do you want to take a look?”

In the three-story building of the Student Council, Chen Mobai called Hua Zijing over to ask, and she gave him this good news.

“Of course, my initial intention was to exchange ideas with geniuses from other universities, to learn more through analogy.”

Chen Mobai didn’t mention that his main goal was to find someone from the Longevity Academy to inquire about extending his lifespan.

“Then go and have a look.”

Hua Zijing left this message and turned to leave, but Chen Mobai stopped her.

“I’m not very familiar with it; how about you come with me?”

【Why should I?】 If this had been a few days ago, Hua Zijing would have blurted out these three words. Why should I accompany you to the exchange meeting? Wouldn’t it be better to catch up on a TV series in that time?

“Alright, I’ll go change my clothes.”

In the end, Hua Zijing didn’t know why she agreed.

【Forget it, after all, he’s worked hard to bring honor to the academy. I should treat him as a guest of the academy and show him around Red City Cave Heaven properly. As the director of the secretariat of the Student Council, it’s my duty.】

Thinking this way, Hua Zijing went down and changed into her custom-made red and black robe from the Refining Department. The wide-sleeved long robe was cinched at the waist, perfectly highlighting her tall and slender figure.

“Let’s go.”

Chen Mobai’s eyes brightened at her attire, and after admiring it, he stood up ready to leave with her.

“You’re going to go just like that, out in the open?”

But Hua Zijing’s eyes widened, holding him back.

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem? Am I not presentable?”

“Do you not know how popular you are right now? The recent hot searches on the Immortal Gate network are all about you and Lan Haitian. The moment you show up, you’ll probably be surrounded by everyone at the exchange meeting.”

Chen Mobai realized and humbly asked.

“So what do you suggest…?”

“Disguise yourself a bit, maybe wear a mask or something, so people will just think you’re from the Refining Department.”

Hua Zijing thought she had a good idea, but it was met with Chen Mobai’s mild objection.

“Then won’t they recognize me?”

“What do you mean?”

Hua Zijing’s eyes widened, struggling to keep up with Chen Mobai’s train of thought.