Chapter 73 – Jade Lake Dao Academy: Extraordinary Prodigies

“Is your Mana scarce… Wait a moment.”

As she said this, Chu Lingluo, who had returned to normal, began rummaging through her Storage Bracelet.

A few breaths later, a jade toad Magical Artifact appeared in her hand.

“Brother Mu, here. This is called the Moon-Swallowing Toad. When placed under moonlight, it can automatically absorb Moonlight Power and condense Moonlight Dew. You can use the Moonlight Dew for cultivation or to recover Mana in the future.”

“…”

This Magical Artifact left Mu Lin speechless.

Mu Lin didn’t know what grade the Moon-Swallowing Toad was, but he had heard of Moonlight Dew before—it was a type of extraordinary Spirit Elixir, with each drop costing over ten Spirit Stones.

The Moon-Swallowing Toad before him could condense Moonlight Dew, making it a veritable treasure trove for most Qi Refiners.

To be honest, faced with such a treasure, Mu Lin was tempted.

However, his principles and self-respect kept him from accepting it.

“This is too valuable, I can’t take it…”

Chu Lingluo: “I’m not giving it to you, I’m just lending it to you temporarily. Besides, if your strength improves, it benefits me too—we can climb higher together.”

Seeing that Mu Lin was still reluctant, she tried her best to put on a stern face and said, “Lending it to you isn’t without conditions. You have to be my teammate, help me adapt to combat, and in the future, you’ll have to repay me for the Moonlight Dew with Spirit Stones.”

“For each drop of dew, I’ll charge you ten… no, twelve Spirit Stones.”

To persuade Mu Lin to accept, Chu Lingluo deliberately raised the price as high as she could.

However, her inherent kindness meant that the highest she could go was twelve.

This made Mu Lin smile.

“If you’re charging for it later, I’d be willing to accept even if it were twenty Spirit Stones per drop.”

Realizing that Chu Lingluo genuinely wanted to give it to him and that it wouldn’t affect her at all, Mu Lin finally accepted the Moon-Swallowing Toad.

Of course, this wasn’t because Mu Lin wanted to freeload.

As a modern person with sound values, he found it difficult to accept taking things from others for free.

However, accepting an investment was something he had no qualms about.

In his previous life, people with promising projects would seek investors in the market. If they gained someone’s approval, they could receive hundreds or even millions in funding.

Such actions weren’t about one party owing the other; instead, they were mutually beneficial.

After all, if the investment succeeded, the investor would also reap substantial rewards.

Now, Mu Lin regarded Chu Lingluo’s support as an investment and was prepared to repay her tenfold or even a hundredfold in the future.

‘Even so, other investors would impose various conditions and require contracts, but Chu Lingluo didn’t even ask for a verbal promise… I owe her a favor, a big one.’

Favors are hard to repay, but fortunately, Mu Lin had confidence in himself.

He believed that with his Proficiency Panel, he was destined to rise.

Therefore, he could repay this debt of gratitude.

After accepting the Moon-Swallowing Toad, Mu Lin initially thought this was his greatest gain. However, he soon realized how limited his perspective had been.

…

Before Mu Lin could even try out the Moon-Swallowing Toad, he was summoned to Dongfang Ya’s cultivation chamber.

When he arrived, Mu Lin was still quite relaxed.

“Teacher, I completed the task fairly well, didn’t I?”

“You passed.”

“Hehe, so is there any reward?”

Asking for a reward in a joking tone was also a way to build rapport.

At the same time, Mu Lin had already prepared himself to appear satisfied no matter what Teacher Dongfang Ya gave him.

However, his expression soon twisted.

“What did you say?!”

“Improving Spirit Root grade? Is such a thing really possible?”

Compared to Mu Lin’s excitement, Dongfang Ya’s mood was exceptionally calm.

“Of course it’s possible. Not to mention raising a Third-Class Spirit Root to Second-Class, some super sects even have methods to help people condense a Saintly Body. Compared to that, improving your Spirit Root grade is nothing. Also…”

At this point, Dongfang Ya’s expression suddenly turned serious.

“You’re celebrating too early. Right now, you’ve only obtained an opportunity to improve your Spirit Root grade. Whether you can seize this opportunity depends on your performance over the next two months.”

“By the way, I’m not optimistic about you passing the assessment.”

Taking a sip of tea, Dongfang Ya said calmly:

“First, it will be very difficult for you to maintain Dao Palace First. Ji Xue, Zhou Liang, Yan Yunyu, and Jing Yeming—none of them are weak. Your talent is already low; without putting in more effort, you will definitely be surpassed by them.”

“Second, it will also be very difficult for you to secure fifth place in the Southeast Joint Exam.”

“Although only five Dao Palaces are participating in this Southeast Joint Exam.”

“Due to differences in cities and towns and the resources they receive, there are also disparities between Dao Palaces.”

“In our Southeast region, Jade Prefecture leads. The Jade Lake Dao Academy there, because of ample funding, not only receives support from the royal family and noble families but also has Elders from the super sect Jade Purity Sect stationed there.”

“The Disciples who enter Jade Lake Dao Academy possess talents that are unmatched in the Southeast. There, you can even see Spirit Roots beyond First-Class—Super-Grade Spirit Roots.”

“In previous years, the top three places in the Southeast Joint Exam have all been taken by Jade Lake Dao Academy.”

“Although the academy isn’t asking you to take first place, even fifth place is very difficult.”

“Also, don’t think the Dao Palace is making things hard for you. Achieving a Complete Transformation of the Spirit Root, even just advancing from Third-Class to Second-Class, still requires immense resources.”

“If you want to gain rewards far beyond ordinary people, you must do things that ordinary people cannot.”

Dongfang Ya’s reminder and warning slightly calmed the excitement in Mu Lin’s heart.

“Thank you for the reminder, Teacher. I will give it my all.”

After speaking, Mu Lin, now feeling a sense of urgency, prepared to leave this place quickly to cultivate.

However, before he could go far, Dongfang Ya called him back.

“Don’t rush, there’s still a reward I haven’t given you.”

“There’s more?”

This time, Mu Lin was truly stunned.

Being able to obtain an opportunity to improve his Spirit Root grade already felt like a stroke of incredible luck to Mu Lin. Having other rewards was something he hardly dared to dream of.

Regarding this, Dongfang Ya said calmly: “The opportunity to improve your Spirit Root grade is the Dao Palace’s reward to you. The Dao Palace is the Dao Palace, and individuals are individuals. You helped me with a task, so naturally, I won’t treat you unfairly.”

“Now, you can make one request of me. As long as it’s not excessive, I will agree.”

“Also, your performance has greatly satisfied Elder Qin at the academy. He has some Magical Artifacts he’s planning to sell. Tomorrow, bring Chu Lingluo here, and I’ll take you both to select some Magical Artifacts.”

“…Thank you, Teacher.”

Having gained so much, Mu Lin felt that seeking refuge with Teacher Dongfang Ya was the most correct decision he had ever made.

He did not believe that any other teacher would be so dedicated to him.

At the same time, Mu Lin also began to consider what kind of request he should make to Teacher Dongfang Ya.

‘My biggest problems right now are Mana and a lack of direct combat ability.’

‘The Mana issue has already been resolved; now it’s time to enhance my direct combat ability.’

(End of Chapter)