Chapter 209: Reward Reckoning
Chapter 209: Reward Reckoning (Requesting Monthly Vote)
[New notification, Lin Qi! A new month has begun!]
[Your Spiritual Cultivation Arena, Gravity Chamber, and Disaster Beast Trial Tower training times have been updated!]
[Since your Azure Firmament Six Colleges division ranked first in the Freshman Competition Disaster Beast Hunting Points Leaderboard, 9 additional training hours have been added, and the Martial Arts Training Hall's Primordial Energy concentration has increased by 90%.]
[Spiritual Cultivation Arena: 24 hours/month]
[Gravity Chamber: 21 hours/month]
[Disaster Beast Trial Tower: 21 hours/month]
Lin Qi’s face lit up as he finished reading the first message.
He had already experienced the benefits of these three cultivation resources. During his first month, he’d found the academy’s allotted time too short—using up all his training hours in just half the month while his martial arts progress skyrocketed.
Now, with an additional 9 hours added across all three facilities—a total of 27 extra hours monthly—his cultivation efficiency would surge dramatically.
"But this increased training time is temporary", Lin Qi mused, staring at the screen. Every freshman received base hours, while competition-based rewards were fleeting.
For example, this month’s first-place ranking earned 9 bonus hours. If the college dropped to second place in the next competition, those hours would decrease to eight.
Beep!
A white intelligent robot entered the Martial Arts Training Hall, delivering dinner: a grade-three Nutritional Meal. As Lin Qi opened the white plastic container, its savory aroma filled the air. He began eating in the hall, continuing to read messages on his screen.
[Lin Qi, your total of 15,008 Disaster Beast Hunting Competition points (208 Level-1, 700 Level-2, and 78 Level-3 Disaster Beasts) has been processed. After deducting 10% tax, you will receive 99.972 million Xia Kingdom Currency units.]
Lin Qi’s eyes widened with excitement. He’d calculated his kills during the three-day competition but hadn’t expected such a lucrative reward.
"This profit is even bigger than I imagined—nearly 100 million Xia Kingdom Currency units in one go!"
After a moment, he calmed himself.
"Hunting Disaster Beasts for profit requires coordination with the Imperial Military and the academy", he reflected. "Only being in Azure Firmament allows such unrestricted hunting. Battlefield conditions wouldn’t offer this safety or efficiency."
He accepted the 10% tax deduction without complaint. The academy’s infrastructure and national public resources required funding, after all. Martial artists were universally high-earners, so taxation was inevitable.
He continued reading:
[Lin Qi, for ranking first in the Azure Firmament Six Colleges Disaster Beast Trial Tower (July), you receive 500,000 Crimson Heaven Points. As fourth-place finisher among freshmen, you receive 1,000,000 Xia Kingdom Coinage.]
[Lin Qi, for winning the Freshman Competition Individual Tournament, you receive 60 million Xia Kingdom Currency units.]
[Your Icbc Card ending in xxx has received 99.972 million Xia Kingdom Currency units.]
[Your card ending in xxx has received 1.5 million Crimson Heaven Points.]
[Your card ending in xxx has received 60 million Xia Kingdom Currency units.]
Lin Qi smiled at the series of confirmation messages. His total rewards approached 17.5 million Crimson Heaven Points and 150 million Xia Kingdom Currency units—over 200 million in total.
This was his largest single income since starting at the academy. Adding his existing balance of nearly 100 million, his total wealth now approached 400 million Xia Kingdom Currency units.
"One step closer to saving up for the Elixir of Regeneration", he murmured, tossing his empty meal container into the trash.
Standing, he paced the Martial Arts Training Hall. While the Elixir remained far beyond reach, he’d earned nearly 300 million in just one month at Azure Firmament.
"This academy truly is a money-making paradise for prodigies", he mused. "The stronger your martial arts power and higher your innate talent, the more you earn."
Now he understood clearly: the Trial Tower’s rewards were especially lucrative.
"According to Taozi’s explanation, rewards are distributed monthly", he recalled. "Higher rankings mean better rewards, and eventually even direct resource allocations. The deeper layers you conquer, the greater the rewards."
"At present, I’m on the second layer. Even first-place here only gives 500,000 Crimson Heaven Points. If I could reach the third layer, monthly rewards would increase significantly."
"The academy encourages both competition and pushing deeper into the Trial Tower."
After finishing his thoughts, Lin Qi sat cross-legged on the floor, clearing his mind of distractions. With rewards distributed and the Freshman Competition concluded, it was time to focus on cultivating his Primordial Energy Martial Art.
He should soon consider breaking through to the Third Realm.
"Inhale... exhale..."
Moments later, his breathing steadied and his consciousness expanded. Within his perception, the Martial Arts Training Hall shimmered with countless Primordial Energy particles, denser than the message had described.
Lin Qi visualized the Golden Vajra Tiger, then violently inhaled, drawing in the surrounding Primordial Energy.
"Boom!!"
A torrent of radiant particles surged into his body, like someone blasting a firehose into his chest. The Primordial Energy poured through his pores, chilling him as his entire frame shivered. The icy energy coursed through every corner of his body, devouring his cells upon contact while refining each part of his physique.
Particularly his tendons showed diminishing returns, as if nearing their limits.
Lin Qi's heart swelled with excitement. The cultivation effect had improved dramatically. The longer he trained, the greater his advantage would grow.
Two hours later
[You've absorbed more Primordial Energy. Vital Energy Stat has broken through. Vital Energy Stat +0.2]
[Vital Energy Stat: 39 → 39.2]
"Hmph."
Lin Qi opened his eyes, golden light burning more intensely within them. "I only need 0.8 more to reach the Third Realm. Tendon refinement efficiency is dropping, so gaining 0.2 at this stage is still impressive."
Standing up, he clenched his fist. During the First Realm peak, techniques like Five Elements Boxing accelerated his muscle refinement without prolonged stagnation. Now approaching Second Realm peak, would he face similar bottlenecks?
He felt the need to refine even his subtle tendons, which required time investment. But he'd never wanted to grind through the First Realm, and he refused to do so now.
Suddenly, he remembered Dean Liu's summons two days later. Could this be related?
...
Azure Firmament First Institute, a private villa
In the living room, a pale-faced student stared at the forum thread. The post clearly stated: "If anyone defeats Huo Wanyang, Ao Feng, and Duan Chuchu, I'll streak naked on campus."
Now commenters demanded he follow through, threatening social suicide. Regret gnawed at him—how could he predict Lin Qi's consecutive victories?
"Should I fake my death? No, my martial cultivation creed demands honesty. I must streak!"
With that, he stripped, activated his recording drone, and sprinted out at top speed, racing two laps around campus while broadcasting his face and sensitive areas digitally obscured.
The video got removed within three hours, but countless copies circulated among freshmen. No one expected such integrity—true grit.
...
Demon Capital, home of Minghai Martial Institute, one of the Three Prestigious Academies.
In the abyssal-blue, aircraft-carrier-shaped teaching building's private office, a middle-aged man in blue-white martial robes gazed at the starry night.
"Who'd have thought you'd defeat Wei Peng to claim the top spot at Abyssal Sea University?"
"Li Hanjiang, scoring seventh nationally in the National College Entrance Exam, yet defeating the national champion—this breaks our university's records."
"Seems Bei Jiang Province held you back."
On the sofa sat a muscular, cold-eyed youth. "I didn't expect to beat Wei Peng either. He felt like a fraud."
"More satisfying than defeating Huo Wanyang."
The middle-aged man chuckled. "Every year's champions, runners-up, and third places are genuine prodigies. Your victory proves your superiority!"
Speaking of Huo Wanyang, he added, "Freshman Competition at Azure Firmament Academy just concluded."
"Huo Wanyang won, right?" the youth asked.
The blue-robed man shook his head. "Huo Wanyang lost the final."
The youth froze. "Huo Wanyang actually lost? I've heard of him—the Warm Marquis, reborn as Lu Bu with Divine Strength, undefeated until now. Who beat him?"
"Lin Qi, the tenth-ranked nationally."
"Lin Qi, tenth place!" The name registered in the man's mind. Someone who could defeat Huo Wanyang warranted serious attention.
"This year's strange—both national champion and vice-champion lost their competitions. Only Shanyu Martial Academy's Liang Yuxin maintained first place." He sighed.
The youth stood. "Looks like the National Freshman League in two months will be exciting. My original target was Huo Wanyang, but now it's Lin Qi. Some Special Ability awakeners might want to prove themselves too. The thought excites me."
...
At Azure Firmament Martial Academy, Lin Qi's victory over Huo Wanyang spread like wildfire. For students, this unprecedented news sparked fascination with the freshman genius.
On August 18th, after Martial Arts General Education Course ended, Lin Qi let others leave first while he took the elevator to the top floor. Suddenly, he remembered his mentor Mu Hong—who'd taken Li Qing and Wang Zhi Xuan to the Otherworld without returning.
(End of Chapter)
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