Chapter 74 – Three-School Joint Exam, Winds Rising, Clouds Gathering

Boom!

In the game, Lu Chen looked at the medicinal dregs that had turned to ashes inside the Azure Vein Cauldron.

Shaking his head with a sigh, he said, “Although I have the help of a data-based interface, the elixirs of the Foundation Establishment Stage are indeed not that easy to refine.”

“Not only is the difficulty of refining the medicinal ingredients far greater than that of the Qi Gathering Pills from the Qi Condensation Stage, but aspects like heat control have also seen an almost qualitative improvement.”

“If I want to successfully refine this Essence Nourishing Pill, I might still need to spend some more time…”

“However, the Essence Nourishing Pill ingredients my master gave me only allow for ten more attempts. I can’t afford to be too wasteful.”

“After all, while the ingredients required for the Essence Nourishing Pill aren’t as expensive as those for the Foundation Pill, they’re still not cheap. Each attempt costs at least around 1,500 contribution points, equivalent to completing fifteen Sect-assigned tasks.”

“Sigh, even refining an Essence Nourishing Pill is this difficult. I wonder when I’ll be capable of refining the Foundation Pill.”

“Without enough Foundation Pills to support me, the difficulty of achieving Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment in the future is no trivial matter.”

“Forget it, no use overthinking. I should focus on refining this Essence Nourishing Pill for now.”

“After all, my Azure Lotus Eye only needs about 6,000 more experience points to reach the breakthrough.”

“As long as I successfully refine one batch of Essence Nourishing Pills, I’ll quickly accumulate the experience needed for the Azure Lotus Eye.”

“And once the Azure Lotus Eye reaches the breakthrough, I’ll find an opportunity to visit Second High and see if I can activate the Instance there.”

“If everything goes smoothly, by the time I clear the game Instance at Second High, the original Ancient Cultivator Tomb Instance should have refreshed, allowing me to gain a considerable amount of experience points again.”

“At this rate, I should be able to cultivate all three special Divine Abilities to the breakthrough before the end of the first semester.”

“By then, as long as I learn the remaining two special Divine Abilities, I can start preparing for Foundation Establishment.”

Thinking about the tasks ahead, Lu Chen felt that he was still far too short on experience points.

The importance of special elixirs like the Essence Nourishing Pill, which could directly provide experience points upon consumption, was once again highlighted.

It wasn’t that Lu Chen hadn’t considered directly exchanging for Essence Nourishing Pills from the Sect, but after seeing the price of 1,000 contribution points per pill, he immediately dismissed the idea.

The reason was simple—it was far too cost-ineffective.

After all, one set of ingredients could yield up to fifteen pills.

With those contribution points, he might as well try refining them himself.

As long as he succeeded just once out of ten attempts, he would break even.

So, refining them himself was the most economical solution.

As Lu Chen reopened the Alchemy Furnace, he muttered to himself, “It’s almost been two months since the school year started. In previous years, the first phase of the Three-School Joint Exam for senior high would begin around this time. I hope I can elevate the Azure Lotus Eyes to the breakthrough before the joint exam.”

“I’ve heard that this year’s exam location happens to be at Second High. This gives me the perfect opportunity to see if I can activate a new Instance…”

Luocheng, November 1st, Luocheng No. 2 High, Three-School Joint Exam.

The so-called Three-School Joint Exam was essentially a special examination held twice a year by the Luocheng High Schools.Unlike the mock exams held within each school, the Three-School Joint Exam was not only more standardized but also far more competitive.

This wasn’t just because achieving good results in the joint exam could earn students substantial resources within their schools.

The most crucial aspect was that during the Three-School Joint Exam, certain special individuals would appear.

These individuals were observers from various Dao Academies.

So-called observers were essentially special personnel dispatched by Dao Academies across the Nine Provinces to identify talented individuals in advance.

Their reason for attending the joint exam was simple:

to see if they could discover promising seedlings early, thereby allowing these students to skip the college entrance exam and secure admission to a Dao Academy directly.

These were the so-called recommended students.

In previous years, some exceptionally outstanding performers in the Three-School Joint Exam had even caught the attention of the Four Great Academies, earning direct admission to these elite institutions within the Immortal Alliance.

Therefore, for many students, the Three-School Joint Exam was essentially an alternative college entrance exam.

Consequently, the vast majority placed great importance on this joint exam.

Naturally, Lu Chen was among those who took it seriously.

After all, who would willingly undergo the fiercely competitive college entrance exam when direct admission was possible?

Luocheng No. 2 High School, sports field.

As several buses bearing Luocheng High School’s insignia entered the campus, students from Third High and Second High who had gathered early on the sports field watched the buses with curiosity.

Soon, students from No. 1 High disembarked and gathered on the sports field, awaiting the start of the Three-School Joint Exam.

Among the crowd, Mu Xiaoye stood beside Lu Chen, her expression filled with surprise.

“Little Lu, how have you changed so much in just half a month?”

Mu Xiaoye sensed the aura emanating from Lu Chen and realized he had unknowingly reached the ninth layer of the Qi Condensation Stage.

Regardless of anything else, Lu Chen’s current cultivation level alone placed him among the top students at Luocheng High School, and indeed throughout all of Luocheng.

Currently, there were only just over ten exam candidates in the entire city with this level of cultivation.

Moreover, she knew Lu Chen possessed exceptional swordsmanship.

This had been personally acknowledged by Bian Shouyi, a genius in swordsmanship.

High cultivation level, powerful swordsmanship.

How had Little Lu changed so much in such a short time? He was practically about to surpass her, the acclaimed genius of No. 1 High.

In response to Mu Xiaoye’s inquiry, Lu Chen smiled and replied, “Don’t look at me like that. I just had some insights recently, and Old Chen generously provided me with cultivation resources out of his own pocket. That’s why my cultivation improved so quickly.”

“Compared to someone like you who relies purely on talent, I’m still far behind.”

“And Little Yezi, you should know that progress in the Qi Condensation Stage isn’t what truly matters. What’s important is whether one possesses the potential to achieve high-grade Foundation Establishment.”

“This is a crucial criterion in the evaluations of various Dao Academies.”

“With my multiple Spirit Root attributes, achieving high-grade Foundation Establishment won’t be easy. So in that aspect, I’m still far inferior to you.”

Although Lu Chen spoke modestly, Mu Xiaoye, having grown up with him, felt her childhood friend wasn’t being entirely truthful.

Inferior to me?

It looks to me like you’re about to surpass me!Mu Xiaoye looked at Lu Chen’s clear and bright eyes with suspicion, instinctively leaning closer as if wanting to observe him up close.

Lu Chen instinctively took a step back under her gaze.

Damn, this girl’s intuition is still so sharp. Could she have noticed something?

Just as Mu Xiaoye was about to say something more, the Principal of Second High, who was presiding over the Three-School Joint Exam, had already stepped onto the platform and was preparing to explain the exam content to everyone.

Seizing the opportunity, Lu Chen immediately spoke up: “Alright, alright, the exam is about to start. If you have any questions, I’ll tell you everything after we return from this joint exam. Is that acceptable?”

“Fine.”

Since Lu Chen had put it that way, Mu Xiaoye had no choice but to let it go for now and listen to the Principal of Second High’s eloquent speech.

However, when she caught sight of Lu Chen standing beside her from the corner of her eye, she couldn’t help but murmur to herself.

Back when Little Lu was just average in talent, I never worried about anyone trying to seduce him.

But now… I should start feeling a bit of crisis!

(End of Chapter)