Chapter 51 – The Importance of Rankings

Rank ninety-eight—it didn’t sound all that impressive on the surface.

But you had to understand—those were Second Year students.

Everyone who managed to get into Ningjiang Academy was an elite among the younger generation.

And they’d had an extra year of cultivation time on top of that.

In terms of raw strength, they were undoubtedly far ahead of any Freshman.

Under those circumstances,

defeating a senior ranked in the top hundred was enough to leave anyone genuinely stunned.

“Now you see why I was so shocked yesterday.”

Jing Tao looked at Lin Ze and let out a sigh of emotion.

“Defeating a top-hundred Second Year student right after Enrollment—someone as monstrous as you, you’re the only one in the entire history of incoming Freshmen!”

Lin Ze was speechless.

Was that a compliment or an insult?

After lingering for a moment, the group left the plaza and headed toward the dormitory area.

Jing Tao introduced along the way:

“Depending on which class you’re in, the dormitory level assigned to Freshmen is different.”

“Class One students get the highest-grade single luxury apartments, Class Two through Five get double apartments, Class Six through Ten get four-person dorms, and the rest get six-person dorms.”

Lin Ze and Guan Ning were fine—both of them were in Class One.

They could move into single luxury apartments.

Zhang Xiaoyun and Liu Siyan, however, were a bit disappointed.

Both had ranked in the four hundreds during the assessment, which meant they’d be assigned to Class Nine.

Naturally, they’d be staying in four-person dorms.

“So lucky… I want to live in a single apartment too.”

“Even a double apartment would be fine. A four-person dorm must be pretty cramped, right?”

The two girls said with some worry.

Jing Tao, walking ahead, replied without turning around:

“Don’t worry, the academy’s dormitory environment and facilities are all top-notch. Even the four-person dorms are quite spacious.”

“Of course, they can’t compare to the single luxury apartments—those are already at the villa level.”

Zhang Xiaoyun and Liu Siyan grew even more envious upon hearing that.

“This is the competitive principle the academy upholds—the more outstanding a student is, the better the treatment they enjoy, and it’s across the board!”

Jing Tao turned back and looked at them meaningfully.

“If you want to live in better dorms, do your best to raise your Year ranking and strive to get into a higher-ranked class.”

“Then how do we raise our ranking?”

Zhang Xiaoyun asked eagerly.

“At the end of every month, the academy arranges an assessment. Based on the results, classes are readjusted, and starting the next month, your treatment changes accordingly. Today happens to be the 1st, so the first monthly assessment after Enrollment will be held thirty days from now.”

Lin Ze felt a wave of emotion listening to this.

No wonder Ningjiang Academy was famous for its fierce competition.

Every aspect of it pushed students to compete.

Even if you didn’t care about raising your ranking, as long as you didn’t want to be relegated to a lower-ranked class with drastically reduced treatment, you had to desperately improve your strength.

Through this subtle influence, the overall strength of students naturally skyrocketed.

No wonder Ningjiang Academy could become one of the top ten Beast-Taming Academies in the Federation.

They really had a system!

“Aside from that, students in different classes also receive different amounts of Resource Points each month.”

Jing Tao continued explaining.

“Resource Points?”

Guan Ning looked puzzled.

“Resource Points are unique to our academy—a currency that only circulates internally.”

“They can be used to exchange for various Pet Beast Materials, to pay for usage time of various facilities, or even to hire famous teachers for one-on-one instruction, and so on. They have a ton of uses and are one of the most important benefits for students.”

Guan Ning and the other two girls listened with eyes sparkling.

The exchange for Pet Beast Materials went without saying.

The other two uses were also extremely valuable.

It was well known that Beast Tamers were called bottomless money pits not only because they had to spend large sums on materials, but also because they needed many auxiliary devices.

For example, dedicated venues for practicing Soul Arts.

Many destructive Soul Arts could only be practiced in special venues.

Using them at home… would be no different from demolition.

Pet Beast skill training also required specific auxiliary equipment.

And most of this equipment was expensive.

Ordinary families simply couldn’t afford it.

Those who wanted to use it could only rent it temporarily at specialized venues for a fee.

The prices were equally steep.

However, within the academy, the fees would presumably be much cheaper than outside.

And the variety would certainly be more complete.

As for guidance from renowned masters, it was even more attractive to students from ordinary families.

After all, unlike elite children from Beast Tamer families who had elders guiding them since childhood, they had only received the academy’s unified basic education since they were young.

In reality, it wasn’t much different from being self-taught.

If they could receive guidance from renowned masters, they might avoid many detours.

Its importance went without saying!

Thinking of this, Liu Siyan couldn’t help but ask:

“Then how many Resource Points can we get each month?”

Jing Tao thought for a few seconds before slowly answering:

“Class One gets 5,000 Resource Points per month. As for Class Nine, if I remember correctly, it’s 3,400 points per month.”

That’s a huge difference!

Zhang Xiaoyun and Liu Siyan pouted.

Class One’s Resource Points were nearly one and a half times that of Class Nine.

The enormous gap once again made the two feel the importance of ranking and class placement.

“By the way, one Mid-rank Element Essence only costs 400 Resource Points within the academy.”

Lin Ze was slightly taken aback.

The market price of a Mid-rank Element Essence outside was 20,000 Credit Points each.

Calculating it that way, the value ratio between Resource Points and Credit Points was roughly 1:50.

Of course.

That calculation was rough.

But it still showed how precious Resource Points were.

“5,000 Resource Points is roughly equivalent to 250,000 Credit Points. Getting that amount every month—the academy really is generous!”

Lin Ze marveled inwardly.

Based on Jing Tao’s description, the value of Resource Points that Ningjiang Academy distributed to students each month alone probably exceeded 100 million Credit Points.

Even calling it lavish wouldn’t be enough to describe such spending.

“Besides the fixed monthly amount the academy gives you, you can also earn Resource Points by completing tasks issued by the academy. It’s roughly the same as the Bounty Missions from the Beast Tamer Association.”

Before they knew it, the group had arrived at the residential area.

Jing Tao led them through registration, confirming their accommodations and collecting keys, then led them toward the teaching area.

“The academy is very flexible regarding courses. They won’t force you to attend classes, so you’re free to decide whether to go or not on a daily basis.”

“Of course, the prerequisite is that you must pass the theoretical courses at the end of the semester.”

After touring the teaching area, Jing Tao immediately led them to the training area.

“Facilities related to Soul Art practice and Pet Beast training are all concentrated in this area.”

“Depending on the duration of use, you’ll need to pay varying amounts of Resource Points each time. Of course, the prices are quite reasonable—at least much cheaper than outside.”

“However, this next place is the real highlight.”

Jing Tao stopped at the entrance of a room, playfully raising both hands as if cheering loudly.

“Everyone, welcome to the world of Virtual Combat!”