Chapter 64: The Unlucky Star is Here
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Jiang Yi denied the servant girl, who wanted to come over to help, and personally served a cup of tea to Ji Tingyu. He asked with curiosity, “Don’t seek for the first ten places? What does that mean? En… I must look like a joke to Miss Ji. I am actually not entirely clear how this Blood Purge works.”
Ji Tingyu’s original intention was to give a piece of advice to dismiss the barrier of Jiang Yi’s heart and to form a friends.h.i.+p. Jiang Yi had much too many secrets and mystics; to have a friend like him would definitely be beneficial for the Ji Clan.
Seeing that Jiang Yi was sincerely asking her for help, she couldn’t just stand and leave. She patiently explained, “The Mt. Spirit Beast College always gathers 300 hundred cadets from the numerous cities of the Six Major Va.s.sal States. The location of the recruitment ceremony was randomized since most of the recruitment ceremony is hosted at the Divine Martial Kingdom and the Great Xia Kingdom.
“But the enrollment spots were much too little; it made many va.s.sal states protesting in the dark. This is why during the annual new cadets’ Blood Purge, the college hosted another special Blood Purge, where any martial artists—who are under 18 and at the third stage of the Cast Tripod Realm—can register. But your special group is only recruitment of 50 cadets.”
Jiang Yi nodded. “Then what is the average number of partic.i.p.ants for this special Blood Purge?”
Ji Tingyu paused for a moment and shook her head. “It is hard to say. Sometimes, over a thousand; other times, a few hundred. This year’s numbers aren’t considered big or small. Around 700 or 800.”
“So many? This Blood Purge is intense.” Jiang Yi got a shock to his heart. For 800 partic.i.p.ants to compete for 50 spots. He originally thought with his strength, he could casually play around in this Blood Purge. It seemed like he was required to treat this seriously.
“That’s correct!”
Ji Tingyu lamented. “In fact, since I got there a dozen days earlier than you, I found out that your group is much more brutal than mine. The difficulty is also a few folds higher than mine. Over your group, there are already three absolute prodigies that broke through to the Purple Mansion Realm. There are also more than ten young masters and misses that have esteemed statuses; some of them are even the clansmen of those official cadets in the college. This is why I advise you not to get to the top ten; just make sure that you can enter the top fifty.”
Jiang Yi asked while confused, “Why go for the top ten? Is there any benefits?”
“Eh…”
Ji Tingyu was completely taken aback by Jiang Yi. Since he wanted to enter the Mt. Spirit Beast College, why didn’t he gather any information? Was he extremely confident of himself or a natural idiot?
She let out a sigh and explained with patience once again, “There are naturally some benefits. Think about why are there so many individuals trying to squeeze into the Mt. Spirit Beast College? The college doesn’t merely have exceptional mentors or the secret method to tame spirit beasts; they also contain other mystical aspects as well. Examples are having a cultivation room that has twice the concentration of spirit energy than the Martial Arts Hall, or a library chamber that held tens of thousands of martial skills, or the divine monument that can allow the cadets to sense a special meaning, or the various elixirs that come from the elixir room.
“In order to use all these facilities, you have to either pay an exaggerating amount of purple gold or use your points to redeem them. And the Blood Purge is the best place to obtain points. For your group, if you can obtain the first place, you will get 1000 points; and with them, you can redeem an earth-tier superior grade martial skill for free!
“So that is the reason. I get it now. Thank you, Miss Ji, for the advice!” Jiang Yi got enlightened and kept all this information in mind. He bowed with cupped fists with grat.i.tude towards Ji Tingyu.
“Alright. I should be heading back.”
Ji Tingyu had already achieved her objective. As she walked towards the entrance, she suddenly turned around and smiled. “Jiang Yi. Do your best! Tingyu wishes to see you at the college.”
Jiang Yi sent Ji Tingyu out while Jiang Yunhai silently came over to the hall. He smiled and asked Jiang Yi, “Young Lord, why didn’t you accompany her back? If you behave so ungentlemanly, it will be hard to obtain a maiden’s heart.”
“Ah? I don’t know about all this!”
Jiang Yi’s expression got awkward and rubbed his nose. “Grandfather, I never had the intention to woo Ms. Ji. I don’t really like such an intelligent girl like her.”
“True! This Ji Clan’s la.s.s is great in everything, except that she is overly intelligent and ambitious. Such a girl truly isn’t suited for you.”
Jiang Yunhai nodded after some thinking; he informed Jiang Yi, “Alright. Young Lord, I originally wanted to explain some things to you, but that la.s.s from the Ji Clan had already done so. You should go into seclusion and try to break through to the fifth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm within these five days. Of course… if you are unable to, then don’t force yourself. Remember that you must exit from seclusion five days later.”
“Okay!”
Jiang Yi nodded and immediately went back to his room to cultivate. In the past, cultivation was a ch.o.r.e to him, but now, it was an enjoyment. He enjoyed the feeling of the essence force that gushed like a fountain; he had this indescribable joy when he witnessed his strength rapidly increasing.
…
As the day of the Mt. Spirit Beast College approached, the Spirit Beast City began to bustle with excitement. Most inns in the city were bursting with customers; even some civilians’ residential properties were rented out. The streets were packed with people, and it’s boisterous.
Five days pa.s.sed by in a jiffy, and there were countless individuals gathered outside the plaza of the southern area of the Spirit Beast City. In a single glance, one could see thousands of people. Dozens of mentors from the Mt. Spirit Beast College were present and waiting for noon before they officially began the Blood Purge.
Among the thousands of people, only about a thousand of them were going to partic.i.p.ate in the Blood Purge. They were separated into two groups: on one side, it was Ji Tingyu and the other enrollment cadets. On the other side, there were at least 800 individuals who were obviously here like Jiang Yi—to partic.i.p.ate in the special Blood Purge.
Ji Tingyu still wore that beautiful yellow dress like a blooming yellow rose. She was surrounded by Jiang Henshui, Liu He, and countless other splendidly-dressed young masters. A graceful and virtuous woman was always wooed by a gentleman. Ji Tingyu, who had such absolute beauty, would definitely attract the pursuit and eyes of numerous men.
“Eh?”
But her current mind wasn’t anywhere near these young masters; neither did she notice those few young masters and misses who were like hidden dragons and phoenixes that had extraordinary bearings. Her eyes were scanning around and filled with uncertainty. The Blood Purge was about to begin, and Jiang Yi hadn’t appeared yet?
“En?”
Among the mentors, a white-dressed female was also scanning around with her icy eyes, and she also realized that Jiang Yi hadn’t appeared yet. Her eyes let out a slight disappointment and resentment. She was kind enough to offer an opportunity, and Jiang Yi didn’t cherish it.
“I know that most of the people already know of the rules. But I shall formally announce it again.”
It was almost time. A tall and st.u.r.dy mentor, who wore black-colored battle armor, walked out. His eyes suppressed all the chatters as he pointed at the front and said, “Do you see that mountain? That is the Mt. Spirit Beast, and the college is at the peak of that mountain. What you need to do is to kill demonic beasts along the way. Every demonic beast has a different colored token. The first group of enrollment cadets is required to obtain nine different-colored tokens and reach the entrance of the college before officially completing the Blood Purge. As for the second group, every enrollment cadet would need to obtain thrice the number of tokens. Of course, those that obtained more tokens would be offered special rewards!”
All the partic.i.p.ants nodded even though they already knew of the rules. As the mentor looked at the time, he raised his hand and shouted, “I seriously remind all of you. This Blood Purge is just a training event. If you aren’t good enough or don’t have the utmost certainty, do not force yourself. The college shall not be held responsible for those partic.i.p.ants that are hurt or killed by demonic beasts. Of course! No one is to intentionally murder during this Blood Purge. If they are found out, they would never be recruited. Alright… the Blood Purge shall commence now. The first group shall go to the eastern hill, the second group will proceed to the western hill.”
“Swis.h.!.+”
Right at this moment, a figure flew over from the city walls. It looked as though… a body was flung out with a huge force from within the city.
“Bang!”
That individual crashed on the ground and tumbled for a few rounds to disperse the forces, incurring no injuries. He stood up and took out a token from his chest. He then laughed awkwardly. “My apologies, I have overslept. I seek forgiveness from the mentors.”
“…”
Everyone looked at one another in the eyes. This young master was too much, right? Where did he find the guts to be late for such an important event like the Blood Purge? What’s more, he arrived in such an eye-catching manner.
Fifth stage of the Cast Tripod Realm!
Mentor Su and Ji Tingyu’s eyes lit up. They knew clearly that Jiang Yi wasn’t late because he overslept, but it was because he had just broken through. He flew over because Jiang Yunhai was afraid Jiang Yi would be late and directly flung him from the city.
Jiang Yi!
The four pairs of eyes from Jiang Henshui, Liu He, He Dao, and Leng Qianqian shrank. This unlucky star was here? It seemed like the future days in the Mt. Spirit Beast College wouldn’t be a peaceful one.