Chapter 288: 500,000 Spirit Crystals Received as Monthly Payment! A Hundred Arenas in the Molten Caverns Compete for Supremacy!

Passing through the quiet stone path.

Crossing the Spirit Plant Garden, brimming with Spiritual Qi.

That independent courtyard belonging to the Heavenly Saint Student.

The Holy Son Courtyard.

It stood quietly before their eyes.

The courtyard walls were simple and ancient, with a faint spiritual light flowing over them. Two lifelike stone carvings of unknown exotic beasts stood before the gate, exuding a transcendent and tranquil aura.

Fox Immortal paused.

She looked up at this high-spec residence within the academy, her red lips curving slightly into a faint smile that could outshine a hundred flowers. Her voice was lazy, carrying a hint of teasing.

"It seems your treatment as a Heavenly Saint Student at Sky Dome Academy is truly not bad. This courtyard is even more grand than the Immortal Caves of many Elders."

Hearing this, Jiang Yun...

...also had a hint of a smile on his lips.

He stepped into the courtyard gate.

"It's more than just good treatment; the service... is also quite thorough. Come on, let's go in and take a look."

Just as the two stepped inside the Holy Son Courtyard gate.

On the bluestone path ahead.

A familiar figure quickly approached.

It was Elder Si Bo, who was responsible for the daily affairs of the Holy Son Courtyard.

Si Bo had a sincere, respectful smile on his face.

He gave Jiang Yun a deep bow.

"Sacred Student, you've returned."

"No need for such formalities, Elder Si."

Jiang Yun cupped his hands in return.

His attitude was calm.

Si Bo straightened up.

His gaze naturally fell upon Fox Immortal, who was beside Jiang Yun.

The woman's face was devastatingly beautiful.

Her temperament was mysterious and ethereal.

Even just standing there quietly.

She seemed to be the focus of the entire courtyard.

A flash of amazement crossed Si Bo's eyes.

But it was quickly restrained.

The smile on his face became even warmer.

He bowed slightly again.

He inquired with just the right amount of respect.

"Sacred Student, this must be the... fiancée you mentioned before? This old man is Si Bo; greetings, Young Miss."

He remembered Jiang Yun saying before that a fiancée would be coming to live with him.

With Si Bo's discernment.

He could naturally see that Fox Immortal was no ordinary woman. That hidden, deep-as-an-abyss aura made even him, a Eclipsing Moon Rank Elder, feel a bit of trepidation. His attitude naturally became more cautious.

Hearing the term 'fiancée'.

A ripple of light flowed through Fox Immortal's eyes.

She subconsciously glanced at Jiang Yun.

Fiancée?

So this is how he intended to explain me to others... An unusual emotion that she hadn't even fully noticed herself welled up in Fox Immortal's heart.

Hearing Si Bo's form of address.

Jiang Yun was also slightly taken aback.

Then he realized.

He had indeed vaguely mentioned it before.

He coughed lightly in slight embarrassment.

He nodded to Si Bo.

"Indeed. Elder Si, she will be living here with me from now on. I'll have to trouble you to make the proper arrangements."

Fox Immortal composed herself.

She gave Si Bo a slight nod.

It was considered a return of the greeting.

She didn't say much.

Still maintaining that sense of mystery and coldness.

Si Bo quickly responded:

"Rest assured, Sacred Student. This old man will certainly make the proper arrangements and will never let anyone disturb your quiet Cultivation."

He thought to himself.

This young lady's temperament is extraordinary.

Her relationship with the Sacred Student is profound.

I must also be careful when serving her in the future.

Having finished explaining this matter.

Si Bo seemed to remember something.

From his sleeve, he took out a simple-looking Storage Ring that faintly glowed with internal spiritual light. He presented it with both hands, his expression becoming even more solemn.

"Sacred Student, this is your monthly resource allocation from the academy as per the regulations. Please inspect it."

Jiang Yun took the ring.

He scanned it with his Divine Sense.

A look of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

The internal space of the ring was not small.

It was neatly stacked with a pile of brilliantly glowing crystals.

They displayed a color of interwoven aqua blue and deep red, emitting fluctuations that merged gentleness and intensity. They were pure water and fire Attribute Spirit Crystals.

With a rough sweep.

The total number was actually as high as five hundred thousand.

However, having seen a million spirit crystals before, Jiang Yun wasn't overly shocked by these anymore.

But this wasn't just a fixed monthly allocation!

It was also the resource tilt from Sky Dome Academy towards the Heavenly Saint Student.

With these spirit crystals.

Whether it was for Little Fire or Little Skylark to absorb and grow, or to use as currency to exchange for items in the Myriad Phenomena Treasury, it would be a huge help.

"The monthly resources will be collected by me from the Academy Affairs Hall on time and then handed over to you."

Si Bo continued.

His tone carried a hint of emotion.

"Sacred Student, you are exceptionally gifted with extraordinary combat power. Now you need to focus on your Cultivation and achieve a Breakthrough as soon as possible. Just leave these trivial matters to me; you only need to focus on training your beasts and improving yourself."

"Thank you for your trouble, Elder Si."

Jiang Yun put away the storage ring and thanked him sincerely.

Having such a meticulous and respectful Elder to handle chores indeed saved him a lot of time and energy.

"This is merely my duty."

Si Bo waved his hand.

Then his expression turned serious.

"By the way, there is one more thing Dean Ming Jing specifically instructed me to tell you."

Jiang Yun's gaze sharpened.

"What are Dean Ming Jing's instructions?"

"It's about the Molten Fire Grotto Secret Realm."

Si Bo said in a low voice.

"The Secret Realm is set to open in one week. According to custom, a selection for the quotas will be held before it opens. The Dean asked me to tell you that although you are a Heavenly Saint Student and enjoy many privileges, you must still rely on your own strength to earn a spot in the Secret Realm; the academy will not directly assign one."

He paused, his tone becoming heavier.

"The Dean particularly emphasized that the Molten Cavern is a recently discovered newly opened Secret Realm. It contains countless opportunities, with dangers and Opportunities coexisting. You, Sacred Student, must obtain a quota to enter!"

"Molten Cavern!"

A sharp light flashed in Jiang Yun's eyes upon hearing this.

One of his main purposes for coming to the provincial capital...

...was to find the Materials needed for Little Fire's next evolution, and the clues for the dragon blood bodhi pointed precisely to this Molten Cavern!

He was already determined to get it.

He had even wanted to find someone to ask about the situation of the Molten Fire Grotto Secret Realm.

Now the Opportunity had come!

Since Dean Ming Jing also placed such importance on it.

It further strengthened his resolve to seize a quota.

"Elder Si, I wonder how many quotas there are in total? And what is the selection method?"

Jiang Yun pressed.

"Also, what exactly is so special about this newly opened Secret Realm...?"

Si Bo was clearly well-prepared.

He explained in detail:

"Sacred Student, you've just arrived in the provincial capital, so you might not know. This exploration of the Molten Fire Grotto Secret Realm is led by the Federal Government, coordinating the participation of various major forces in the provincial capital. Our Sky Dome Academy has been allocated one hundred entry quotas."

"The selection method is simple and direct, following the rules of the Beast Tamer world: strength is paramount!"

Si Bo's tone carried a hint of killing intent.

"In one week, the academy's Colosseum will set up one hundred quota arenas. Once the selection begins, any student who meets the basic conditions can compete. There is only one rule: within half a day, the arena lords can change without limit, but at the end of the half-day, those still standing on the arena will obtain the corresponding Secret Realm quota for that arena!"

After listening, Jiang Yun nodded.

This method was indeed simple and crude, but it was also the fairest and best way to demonstrate strength.

Those who can hold the arena are the strong.

And are qualified to obtain the Opportunity.

This was undoubtedly the most direct test for all the Geniuses who aspired to the Secret Realm.

"As for the newly opened Secret Realm..."

A look of longing mixed with awe appeared on Si Bo's face.

"As the name suggests, it's an ancient remnant Secret Realm space that has just been discovered and has not yet been explored or developed on a large scale. Such Secret Realms often preserve a relatively intact environment, containing countless Heaven And Earth Treasures, potential ancient ruins, Legacies, rare mineral veins, and exotic spiritual plants... the value is immeasurable! Every time a newly opened Secret Realm appears, it triggers a frantic scramble among various major forces."

Hearing this.

Jiang Yun felt a trace of doubt.

"Since the resources are so abundant and it hasn't been developed, why not let the top experts from various Families and forces enter to explore and find treasure, instead of allocating quotas to us young disciples?"

Si Bo seemed to have expected this question.

He gave a bitter smile.

"Sacred Student might not know. These Secret Realm spaces left over from ancient times often have extremely special and unstable structures; they are fragile bubbles independent of our main world. There is an upper limit to the energy intensity they can withstand."

"If the top experts of various forces were allowed to enter, not to mention the earth-shattering battles that would likely break out over treasures, the powerful energy they emit and the aftershocks of their clashes alone could very likely exceed the endurance limit of the Secret Realm space, causing the entire Secret Realm to collapse and be annihilated! At that time, not only would all those who entered perish together, but the precious resources within the Secret Realm would also be lost forever in the Void Realm, which would be more loss than gain."

"And if the Federal Government were to send experts to explore alone, other forces naturally wouldn't agree, which could easily lead to even greater conflicts."

Si Bo continued:

"Therefore, the Federal Government and the major forces jointly established rules. Whenever a newly opened Secret Realm is discovered, each party first sends out an expert proficient in investigation, Formations, or the Dao of space to form a Joint Investigation Team. They enter the Secret Realm for a preliminary exploration to assess risks and eliminate some potential major threats to subsequent entrants, such as clearing out certain overly powerful native Vicious Beast tribes or marking extremely dangerous spatial rift areas."

"After completing the preliminary investigation and clearing, the quotas are then distributed to the major forces, and qualified young Geniuses enter to explore, find treasure, and gain experience. In this way, the risk of the Secret Realm collapsing due to the fighting of top experts is avoided, and a certain balance is achieved through competition among the youth, allowing all forces to benefit while also providing excellent opportunities for the younger generation to hone themselves and grow."

Jiang Yun realized.

So there were such complex considerations and balances involved.

This was indeed a...

...relatively reasonable solution under the current circumstances.

"I see."

Battle Intent surged in Jiang Yun's eyes.

He said solemnly to Si Bo: "Please tell Dean Ming Jing that Jiang Yun will certainly not fail his expectations. In one week, I will definitely seize a quota!"

"I will certainly pass it on!"

Si Bo nodded with satisfaction.

Then he reminded:

"Sacred Student, the competition will be extremely fierce. Not only will the top Prodigies of the Earth Rankings who have been lying low and haven't fought you yet go all out, but more importantly... those Prodigies of the academy who have already entered the Amethyst Rank and are on the provincial capital heavenly rankings will likely also appear to compete for the Secret Realm Opportunity!"

His tone carried a bit of worry.

"You are now famous and showing your brilliance; a tall tree attracts the wind. At that time, I'm afraid many people with ulterior motives will view you as a strong opponent that must be eliminated, and they might even unite against you. You... must be cautious."

Jiang Yun's expression remained unchanged.

But his gaze became even deeper and sharper.

Heavenly Rankings Prodigies, Amethyst-rank Experts... he had long expected to face them.

He just didn't expect...

...it would be so soon.

That they might clash early in this Secret Realm quota battle.

"I understand."

Jiang Yun said in a deep voice.

"It just so happens that I also want to see what level the top young generation of this provincial capital has reached."

Pressure!

Is also motivation!

Only by clashing with stronger opponents...

...can one push oneself to the limit faster.

And accelerate growth!

Seeing that Jiang Yun had no fear.

But instead was high in morale.

Si Bo secretly admired him.

He said no more and respectfully took his leave.

To arrange Fox Immortal's residence and other matters.

Jiang Yun and Fox Immortal continued toward the main building in the courtyard.

The evening breeze brushed past.

Bringing the fragrance of the spirit plants.

After a moment of silence.

Jiang Yun suddenly turned his head.

Looking at the peerlessly beautiful woman beside him.

He couldn't help but ask curiously.

"In one week, the Molten Fire Grotto Secret Realm... do you want to go in and take a look as well?"