31: Chapter 31 Letter from the Divine Institute

As dawn broke, seven signal letters were already laid out beyond the threshold of the old house.

Two were gold-sealed, three had silver patterns, one bore the black seal of the Military Court, and one held the black token of the Merchant Alliance.

There were still sounds of carriages at the end of the alley; the people coming were more anxious than the letters, as if afraid that if they were a step too slow, the freshly unearthed meat on the table would be snatched away by someone else first.

The old lamp inside the room was still lit.

The complete coordinates were pressed under the lamp, the dark red fire codes jumping segment by segment, like a needle buried for many years, piercing right into Lu Jin's eyes.

His father's words, "Don't let anyone see the full appearance of that furnace," still echoed in his ears; he raised his hand to lock the coordinates into the black box, his Sea of Consciousness already submerged into the Dead Ash Mine.

By the Return Fire Well, two new low black stone walls had been erected.

The resource seals from the first tier of the Unified Exam had been broken; of the four vials of Stability Fluid, two were pressed into the bottom of the well, and two were distributed to the Fire Room and the Breeding Cave.

The silver-white altar frame had been smashed into twenty-three pieces, and Grey Pupil had personally embedded them into the black stone rim of the well.

With each piece embedded, the restless fire in the well subsided by a fraction, allowing the severely injured rats soaking in bacterial paste in the Fire Room to breathe a little easier.

In the deepest part of the Breeding Cave, the White-Bellied Mother Rat lay beside the incubation crystal core, her belly glowing occasionally, causing the entire litter of pups to settle down.

The surviving Red-Eyed Rats knelt in rows by the well, pressing their scorched claws, broken teeth, and the recovered wind needles into the sacrificial basin.

The lines of faith were much heavier than before the Unified Exam, like ropes mixed with iron wire, pressing one by one into Lu Jin's Sea of Consciousness, firmly anchoring his black fire.

Grey Pupil stood up, its grey eyes as cold as stone.

"Twenty-three segments of the silver altar rim, nine residual wind pillar patterns, seventeen thunder feathers, and the idol fragments are enough to repair three bone carriages."

"The Red-Eyed Rats are still here."

"The guard order is stable."

Lu Jin glanced at the two newly repaired Black Shield Bone Carriages; the carriage bellies were weighted with idol fragments, and the sides of the wheels had additional silver-white wind-guiding buckles, making them almost bump-free when pushed over gravel.

"Do not upgrade the nest yet."

"Use three of the residual wind pillar patterns for the well, four for sealing the storage caves, and the remaining two for the carriages."

"Open another secret transport line in the rear cave. I am leaving, and the house cannot be left empty."

Grey Pupil bowed its head in acknowledgment and turned to step down from the well rim.

With a wave of its claw, the Cart-pulling Rats immediately bit onto the bone ropes, dragging the last two boxes of Unified Exam resources toward the rear storage; the Fire-Guard Line pressed the thunder feathers one by one into the buckles of the Black Shield Bone Carriages, testing the wind and setting the angles, so busy that not a single one ran around aimlessly.

Someone knocked on the door.

Three knocks, as steady as if stamping an official document.

Lu Jin withdrew his Sea of Consciousness and opened the door to see the principal of Qinglan No. 3 Middle School and the director of the Cultivation Department standing outside, followed by two municipal record-keepers.

The smile on the principal's face was deeper than it had been on the settlement platform; he held a silver box in his hand, the school emblem hanging from the corner of the box.

"Lu Jin, the school has come to give you a supplementary congratulatory gift."

Lu Jin stepped aside half a step, not inviting them to sit.

The principal entered, first scanning the old house, then glancing at the pile of letters on the table, his smile deepening.

"Qinglan No. 3 Middle School has produced the top scorer of the Unified Exam, and the city is already preparing a celebration. The school will restore you to the highest cultivation sequence, and we will provide you with a mentor group, repair kits, and extra Stability Fluid."

Lu Jin looked at him: "Conditions."

The smile lines on the principal's face did not move.

"On the day of the City Celebration, you must attend as a key student of Qinglan No. 3 Middle School."

"The school also requires you to cooperate with a public combat technique record to serve as teaching archives for the Alliance."

"As for the Heavenly Vault Upper Academy, we can also push you a step forward."

Lu Jin raised his hand and pushed the silver box back an inch.

"The day I went to collect my basic divine fluid, you gave me a frozen red slip."

"Today, you want to use my top ranking to save face for the school; the price is too thin."

The director of the Cultivation Department's face sank: "Lu Jin, the school is paving the way for you. A reserve spot at the Heavenly Vault Upper Academy is something many in the city would beg for."

Lu Jin's voice was very flat.

"Can the school grant me access to my father's sealed combat death records?"

The room fell silent.

The principal's eyelids twitched slightly: "That is a Military Court sealed file; it does not belong to the school."

"Then don't talk to me about paths."

Lu Jin looked at them, not a hint of warmth in his eyes.

"You no longer have any use for my name. The door is behind you; take the box with you when you leave."

The smile on the principal's face finally could not hold.

Just as they stepped out the door, the carriage at the end of the alley pulled up in front of the house.

The carriage curtain was lifted, and the white-haired elder of the Lu family stepped out, followed by four guards, each carrying a red-patterned resource box on their shoulders.

When the elder entered, he happened to bump into the principal; neither spoke, but the air pressure in the room dropped instantly.

The elder looked at Lu Jin, his voice deep.

"The bit of sugar water given by outsiders won't last you a few days. The Lu family will give you the real deal."

The box lid opened.

Second-tier Stability Fluid, Flame Scale Domain Protection Card, and a recommendation letter for the main academy of Dongling Divine Academy.

Even the air in the room grew hot.

The elder stared at Lu Jin: "Return to the Lu family, and the matter of the dirty hands during the Unified Exam ends here. As for Dongling, the family will handle the connections for you. Your father's old line can also be renegotiated."

Lu Jin looked at the recommendation letter and suddenly smiled.

"Are you done stating your price?"

The elder nodded.

Lu Jin raised his eyes.

"Then let me say one thing."

"My father's severed resource line, three years of quota, every cent, must be restored first."

"The source of Lu Jingyao's illicit fire seed must be handed over to the Divine Temple."

"The old house's seals and the application forms for the old files must be delivered to my table today."

"If anything is missing, don't step into this door."

The elder's face sank instantly: "Don't burn your bridges."

Just then, a faint sound of bone wheels grinding against the ground came from behind the door.

Two newly repaired Black Shield Bone Carriages slowly stopped at the entrance of the inner hall, with a dozen Red-Eyed Rats lying behind the carriages, heads bowed, not making a sound.

Grey Pupil stood at the front, its shoulders still stained with unwashed grey blood, its grey eyes staring straight at the Lu family guards.

The backs of the four men tensed simultaneously, their hands pressing onto the divine pattern weapons at their waists.

Lu Jin stood before the threshold, not retreating half a step.

"You were very decisive when you cut off my path back then."

"If you want to come back today to share the meat, settle the debts first."

"If you can't do it, take the boxes and leave."

The white-haired elder stared at him for a few moments, and having failed to get a single soft word, turned and left.

When the two red-patterned boxes were carried out, the wooden beams creaked under the weight, like two coffins that couldn't be laid to rest.

Once the door was closed, the seven letters on the table lit up simultaneously.

Silver light, gold light, black light—they illuminated the small old house as if it were a makeshift tribunal.

The first projection came from the Heavenly Vault Upper Academy.

A woman in silver robes stood in the light, her expression cold, and she stated her price immediately: "Top of the Unified Exam is enough to secure a top reserve spot. Upon entry, you get Tier A resources, a seat with a central mentor, and three months of Stability Fluid quota; we can finalize this today."

Lu Jin only asked: "Conditions."

"The sacrificial path must be jointly evaluated by the academy and the temple, the core structure of the divine domain must be sealed and filed, and you must not investigate Military Court old files without authorization during your first academic year."

Lu Jin raised his hand and pressed down, and the Heavenly Vault projection extinguished on the spot.

The second light lit up; it was Dongling Divine Academy.

A middle-aged man smiled gently, as if everything could be negotiated.

"Dongling will give you a seat in the main academy's combat sequence class, and upon entry, you will be provided with second-tier Stability Fluid, mentor recommendations, and exclusive sponsorships. Your public competitions, business collaborations, and research evaluations will all be integrated and managed by the Academy-Merchant Liaison Department."

"What about file access permissions?"

The man's smile did not fade: "Dongling is willing to help you put in a word regarding your father's old case."

"I don't want someone to just put in a word."

Lu Jin looked at him.

"I want access permissions I can actually touch."

The man was silent for a moment before saying slowly: "The core fragments from the Unified Exam and samples of the sacrificial path must first enter the academy's library."

Lu Jin couldn't even be bothered to give a second sentence; he swiped his fingertip, and the Dongling light also extinguished.

When the third projection descended, the temperature in the room seemed to drop a little.

The person who appeared wore the black-and-silver robes of Zhuixing Divine Academy, with sharp shoulder lines and a faint old scar on her brow bone; her standing posture suggested she was accustomed to standing on the edge of the battlefield.

She didn't engage in small talk; her first sentence was very blunt.

"Zhuixing only issues entry orders, not promises."

"Freshmen are tested as soon as they enter the academy; resources, class placement, and directory permissions all depend on the contribution leaderboard."

"With a sacrificial path like yours, you'll probably be thrown into the Black Well Class first upon entry."

Lu Jin looked at her: "What about the Star Map Library?"

The woman's gaze flickered slightly.

"If a freshman's contribution meets the standard, they can enter the outer directory."

"Top ten, you can apply for the sealed layer."

Lu Jin's eyes deepened a little: "Are the old war scrolls of the Collapsed Star Mining Field in there?"

The woman stared at him, as if trying to see other things from the depths of his eyes.

"There are secondary records."

"Whether you can touch the sealed scrolls depends on your own ability."

Lu Jin did not speak immediately.

Inside the black box under the table, the coordinate fire codes seemed to be slightly heating up.

The Heavenly Vault offers a name, but also a cage.

Dongling offers resources, but their reach is even longer.

The Military Court's path is the fastest, but the cost in blood is the heaviest.

The Merchant Alliance offers a path, but they account for every step.

Zhuixing feeds you nothing; it just places a door there.

Just as he raised his hand, a fourth black light cut directly into the three-academy channel.

Instructor Han Tiecheng sat on the other side of the Military Court projection, his shoulder insignia cold and hard, as if he had been scraped back from the border winds.

"Stop stalling."

"The Heavenly Vault will put your fire in a cage, and Dongling will dismantle your bones into a price tag. At least those people at Zhuixing are willing to throw you onto the field."

He looked at Lu Jin, his words as straight as nails.

"I'll put your name in the Military Court's reserve department."

"Normally you belong to the academy, but during holidays you belong to me. As for your father's old case, you can investigate what the academy allows, and for what the academy cannot find, the Military Court will leave a path for you."

Lu Jin asked: "Price."

Instructor Han Tiecheng grinned, without any humor.

"When the border order arrives, you must go."

Lu Jin replied decisively.

"You can list my name, but I won't sign a life contract."

"Deal."

Instructor Han Tiecheng was also decisive, raising his hand and stamping a black reserve seal next to the letter from Zhuixing.

"First go to Zhuixing and survive."

"If you can't survive, the files will be useless to you."

The Military Court's black light dissipated, and the Merchant Alliance's black token finally lit up slowly.

Young Master Su Jiuheng leaned back in his chair, his light gold robes loose and disheveled, rotating that familiar black token in his hand, as if the previous confrontational dialogue had nothing to do with him.

"The previous few parties all wanted to recruit you."

"I'll save us both some trouble and only talk business."

Lu Jin looked at him: "Speak."

Young Master Su Jiuheng raised two fingers.

"I'll give you three things."

"Priority cargo space on the Zhuixing Divine Rail, thirty credit points for the first month, and a direct line for loot valuation."

"I want two things."

"Priority inquiry rights and the betting rights for your public combat records."

Lu Jin didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Priority inquiry rights, limited to civilization relics."

"Fifty percent of the betting rights."

"I don't sell kin, I don't sell core sacrificial vessels, and I don't sell my path."

Young Master Su Jiuheng laughed.

"You are better at negotiating than I thought."

He flicked his hand, and the black token landed on the edge of the table, coming to a steady stop.

"Deal."

"One more piece of bonus advice."

"You are very valuable right now; when you receive the transfer seal, verify it yourself first."

The black token's light extinguished, and the old house became quiet again.

The seeds outside who were still waiting for the Divine Academies' replies were probably still calculating whether they could get in the door.

On Lu Jin's side, a pile of doors on the table had already been opened; the rest depended on which way he chose to walk.

He reached out and pressed down on the black-silver star emblem of Zhuixing Divine Academy.

"Lu Jin, accept the order."

The woman's voice faded, and the black-silver light converged in his palm, transforming into a heavy entry order.

On the back of the token was an attached hexagonal fortune-transferring star charm, the star pattern cold and clear, the flowing light very steady.

Grey Pupil had stood by the table at some point, its grey eyes staring at the star charm, unmoving.

Lu Jin was about to put it away, but when his fingertips brushed against the back of the charm, his movements suddenly stopped.

A wisp of extremely fine black ash fell from the seam of the third return pattern.

That spot should have been a path-protecting seal, but now there was an unfamiliar fire-sealing line, as thin as a hair, hidden very deeply.

If he hadn't just touched his father's old Military Court-style fire codes, he wouldn't have been able to tell at all.

Lu Jin's eyes grew cold bit by bit.

This fortune-transferring star charm had been tampered with.