42: Chapter 41 Sparring

Seeing some students lose control of their emotions, standing up and shouting with righteous indignation,

Li Fan merely shook his head, sitting firmly as if on a fishing platform. With the System, he was satisfied; he didn't care about things like credits.

The mentor in the center had long anticipated this.

With a light wave of her hand, a wave of cold air swept out, knocking the hot-headed students back down onto their futons.

"This is the Dao of Cultivation, and this is merely letting you compete with Cultivators of the same Realm."

"If you go to the outside world, leaving the Xuan Nu Star Domain, you could encounter Cultivators several major Realms higher than you at any moment."

"Will you wave flags and shout about unfairness then, too?"

The mentor spoke the final words with deliberate emphasis, aiming to awaken these students.

With that, everyone had to accept reality, while Li Fan, off to the side, asked a question with keen interest.

"Mentor, do you also participate in the grade rankings?"

The mentor turned to look at Li Fan, somewhat surprised that he would ask such a thing.

"That is correct. Including myself, the principal, the directors... everyone at Xuanzong University is included in the grade rankings; no one is an exception."

"With my Golden Core cultivation, I belong to the Grade B ranking. You are welcome to come and see if you are interested."

This was Xuanzong University; all school positions were filled by students through commissions.

Upon hearing this, Li Fan noted the mentor's name.

"Mentor Lu Changxue... is it?"

With that, Mentor Lu Changxue delivered her final remarks.

"In the morning, you may come to me with questions related to Cultivation Breakthroughs."

"For other subjects like Alchemy, Talismans, Artifacts, Arrays, and Forging, there are public classes in the afternoon; you must spend credits to sign up for them yourselves."

"After all, accepting this mentor commission didn't reward me with many credits; I don't have the time to teach you hand-in-hand."

"In a hundred days, you will need to spend credits to seek instruction elsewhere."

"Of course, you may do so now as well; I wouldn't mind."

The surrounding students looked at one another in dismay. They didn't even have any credits yet; how could they possibly replace a free Golden Core mentor?

Consequently, they walked toward the center one after another, intending to ask about the Bottlenecks and doubts they encountered during their Qi Refining Breakthroughs.

However, they were forced back by the cold air circulating around the Golden Core mentor.

Li Fan, meanwhile, sat leisurely on his futon, feeling a bit of interest in the school System of Xuanzong University.

"Credits are the key."

Judging by what Mentor Lu Changxue said, almost everything revolved around credits; even attending public classes required paying credits.

"Aside from the fixed distribution every hundred days, the most direct source is commissions, isn't it?"

Seeing that Mentor Lu Changxue had finished speaking, and having nothing else to do, Li Fan simply stood up to explore the campus.

Watching his departing figure, Mentor Lu Changxue withdrew her meaningful gaze.

The surrounding students noticed this and spoke disdainfully.

"That guy looks like someone who snuck in through connections."

"He doesn't even care about his own Breakthrough; he didn't even come to ask Mentor Lu."

"I bet he'll be at the bottom of the grade rankings this time."

Upon hearing this, Mentor Lu Changxue did not offer any comment on Li Fan.

She simply withdrew the cold air around her and began to answer the surrounding students' questions in a calm tone.

Walking through the campus, the most eye-catching structure was an octagonal tower to the far east.

Directly above the tower was a Secret Realm portal, from which vast amounts of Spiritual Qi constantly poured down into the building below.

From top to bottom, every floor of the octagonal tower greedily absorbed the Spiritual Qi.

However, those closest to the source benefited the most; the higher the level, the more Spiritual Qi was absorbed, while the lower floors could only absorb the remnants.

"So this is the Spirit Refining Tower."

Li Fan looked at the description on his terminal for the Xuanzong University main campus map.

Its effect should be similar to the Cultivation Room at his home, though the concentration of Spiritual Qi was far higher.

After reviewing the relevant information, he paused in his tracks.

"It doesn't even require credits?"

As he continued reading the introduction, Li Fan nodded in understanding.

"That makes sense."

If it didn't require credits, then it all depended on strength.

The Spirit Refining Tower had a total of 101 floors; the level of Spirit Refining Room one could occupy depended entirely on one's own ability.

"No wonder Mentor Lu didn't mention it; I doubt many freshmen could secure a spot in the Spirit Refining Tower."

In a place where space was at a premium and spots were limited, the competition must be fierce.

Li Fan was already at Foundation Establishment, so he naturally had nothing to fear. He also happened to need a place to sleep and pass the time.

Otherwise, he would be exploited by Nangong Miao again when he returned that night.

Upon reaching the base of the tower, Li Fan realized that the Spirit Refining Tower was much larger than it appeared from a distance.

Although the tower narrowed as it ascended, the first floor alone was the size of a soccer field.

Entering the first floor, the space was incredibly vast. Arriving at the atrium, he could look up and see the floors arranged in layers.

The Spiritual Qi at the very top was so dense that it had condensed into a thick mist.

"Truly impressive. But what is the purpose of this atrium being so spacious yet completely empty?"

With this question in mind, Li Fan approached the first-floor reception window. Behind the glass sat a puppet, which emitted a mechanical voice.

"Please present your Spirit Refining Room token."

"I don't have one."

The blunt reply caused the puppet to pause, as if it didn't know how to respond.

The puppet then slumped over onto the reception desk.

Not long after, a sleepy-eyed, curly-haired Cultivator emerged from the shadows behind it.

He asked with some confusion.

"A freshman? How did you wander into the Spirit Refining Tower?"

Li Fan spoke bluntly.

"I want a Spirit Refining Room."

The curly-haired Cultivator saw that Li Fan was treating this like checking into a hotel, demanding a Spirit Refining Room right off the bat.

He chuckled inwardly but readily agreed.

"Sure. All Spirit Refining Rooms are located on the second floor and above."

As he spoke, he tapped the reception desk, and a wooden board flew out from behind him, engraved with the layout of the second-floor Spirit Refining Rooms.

"See those? The ones glowing green are the ones you have a chance to move into right now."

The curly-haired man pointed to the few available Cultivation Rooms and glanced at Li Fan, already mentally marking him as a poor sap about to get beaten up.

"Spar a little, and you might just manage to snag a Spirit Refining Room."

Li Fan, however, acted exactly like a naive greenhorn.

He nodded and, looking at the board, randomly picked a poor soul.

The curly-haired man hadn't expected Li Fan to actually agree to a spar, and he secretly sighed that freshman enrollment was indeed interesting.

He quickly operated the controls, efficiently arranging a spar between the two.

"Alright, head to the atrium. The other person will be there in a moment."