5: Chapter 5 Speculation

"Principal Zhou."

Shen Ye raised his head. "Why are you putting so much on me?"

Principal Zhou Wenyin leaned back in her chair and looked at him for a moment.

"Because your divine kingdom's fluctuations are very similar to Gu Yan's."

Shen Ye's heart skipped a beat.

"It's not the attributes that are similar. The Land of Cultivation and the Eye of the Storm are completely different."

Principal Zhou Wenyin's gaze landed on him.

The analysis attribute allowed her to see the contours of the power hidden beneath the fog in Shen Ye's body—although she couldn't see the specific form, the contours themselves were enough to explain the issue. "It's that feeling of 'hiding something'."

When Gu Yan awakened back then, the stone tablet displayed the Eye of the Storm, S-rank elemental resonance.

"But before he graduated, he told me in private that there was a second layer in his divine kingdom—deep within the wind and thunder, there was a realm he had never mentioned to anyone."

"He didn't tell me what it was."

"And I didn't ask."

She paused for a moment.

"Gu Yan went missing in the gray zone, and the official conclusion was that he encountered a Void Race lord and died in battle."

"I don't believe it. I know his strength; an ordinary lord couldn't kill him."

"He must have gone deep into a place he shouldn't have gone, discovered something he shouldn't have discovered, and provoked someone he shouldn't have provoked."

Her tone was calm, but Shen Ye could hear the resentment suppressed for a hundred years within it.

"You are the same as him."

There was something hidden beneath the Land of Cultivation.

I won't ask what you are hiding, nor will I ask why the stone tablet couldn't detect it.

"I only need you to do one thing—don't disappear like him."

Shen Ye held the broken sword and didn't speak for a long time.

"I won't disappear," he said.

Principal Zhou Wenyin nodded.

"He Man will arrive tomorrow. She owes me a favor and will come to be your combat instructor."

"Teacher Zheng will be responsible for your daily management."

"Void Race intelligence will be handled by Elder Meng from the City Association—Elder Meng is an old friend of mine, a retired pioneer who killed Void Race for forty years at the border and returned alive."

"The things he teaches aren't in textbooks."

The individual training plan starts tomorrow. The curriculum is in the file.

"You can leave the school every Saturday. Whether you go to the trading market or a secret realm, arrange it yourself."

Shen Ye closed the file.

"Is there anything else I need to sign?"

"No more." Principal Zhou Wenyin stood up. "Develop well. Remember, the top fifty in the country."

That step—Fang Zhen, Gu Yan, and He Man all failed to take it.

"You must take it."

When he walked out of the principal's office, the sky was almost dark.

Shen Ye had an extra sealed resource bag in his hand.

Three blueprints—Fine-grade low-quality Spirit Field, Rare-grade low-quality Five Elements Array Eye: Metal, Epic-grade low-quality heavenly tribulation platform.

One divine kingdom core fragment, Rare-grade high-quality.

One broken sword.

Six Fine-grade blueprint rations, one hundred faith crystals, twenty million in cash.

And that individual training plan.

The corridor was very quiet, and his footsteps echoed between the walls.

He didn't return to the dormitory immediately but turned into the meditation room he had used during the day, closed the door, and opened the resource bag.

First, he unfolded the Spirit Field blueprint.

The moment the blueprint unfolded, information flowed into his consciousness.

Spirit Field, Fine-grade low-quality, construction materials required: 100 cubic meters of spirit soil, one spirit spring irrigation canal, one spirit-gathering array base.

Function: Open up ten acres of spirit fields, increase spirit plant growth speed by 50%, annual output of 50 batches of mortal-grade spirit plants.

His consciousness swept over the Cultivation Divine Kingdom—the Wood Spirit Root Kin had discovered natural spirit soil deposits at the edge of the forest, the Water Spirit Root Kin had already excavated channels from the spirit spring, and the Earth Spirit Root Clan had dug the array base pit in the center of the spirit field.

He threw a faith crystal into the array base.

The moment the spirit-gathering array was completed, the entire spirit field was enveloped in a faint spiritual light.

Spirit Field, built.

Three days in divine kingdom time, less than five minutes in the outside world.

Gain Without Labor triggered.

Deep in the Land of Gods and Demons, a Fine-grade high-quality Spirit Field condensed silently.

Area of one hundred acres, growth speed increased by 100%, annual output of 100 batches of Fine-grade spirit plants.

Shen Ye unfolded the second blueprint—Five Elements Array Eye: Metal.

As the blueprint unfolded, sharp metal energy rushed towards him.

Rare-grade low-quality, construction materials: one metal energy mineral vein, ten sword intent stones, one Five Elements array base.

Function: Enhance the combat power of Metal Spirit Root Kin by 20%, coverage radius of 50 kilometers.

His consciousness swept over the divine kingdom—that mountain containing metal energy was a natural mineral vein, and among the one hundred faith crystals given by Principal Zhou, thirty were metal-attribute, which could be used as substitutes for sword intent stones.

The Metal Spirit Root Kin excavated an array base platform at the top of the mountain and embedded the thirty metal-attribute crystals in a triangular pattern.

The moment the last one was placed, a golden sword energy shot into the sky.

Five Elements Array Eye: Metal, built.

Five days in divine kingdom time, less than eight minutes in the outside world.

Gain Without Labor triggered again.

Deep in the Land of Gods and Demons, a Rare-grade high-quality Five Elements Array Eye: Metal stood silently.

Combat power increased by 50%, coverage radius of 200 kilometers, can train 100,000 cultivators.

Shen Ye took a deep breath and unfolded the third blueprint.

heavenly tribulation platform. Epic-grade low-quality.

The moment the blueprint unfolded, the air in the entire meditation room solidified.

It was not any kind of power among the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, but a higher-level, near-heavenly dao coercion.

heavenly tribulation platform, Epic-grade low-quality building, construction materials required: ten heavenly thunder stones, one Five Elements array base (requires all five elements), one tribulation platform base (must be able to withstand heavenly thunder without breaking).

Function: When kin undergo tribulation, the power of the heavenly tribulation is reduced by 10%, the success rate of the tribulation is increased by 10%, and it can accommodate ten people to undergo tribulation simultaneously.

His consciousness swept over the Cultivation Divine Kingdom.

Heavenly thunder stones—there were no thunder-attribute stones among the one hundred faith crystals given by Principal Zhou, but the divine kingdom core fragment she gave could be used as a substitute.

The divine kingdom core fragment itself contained the power of the divine kingdom's origin; embedding it into the platform base could simulate the thunder-attracting effect of heavenly thunder stones.

Five Elements array base—the Five Elements Array Eye: Metal had already been completed; the five array eyes of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth only needed four more to be built, but the array base of the heavenly tribulation platform could first be replaced by the spiritual power of the Five Elements Kin.

Tribulation platform base—the volcanic rock from that dead volcano had been tempered by geothermal fire for countless years and was the best material for carrying heavenly thunder.

Shen Ye's consciousness turned into instructions: Earth Spirit Root Clan, mine the volcanic rock and build a tribulation platform base at the top of the mountain opposite the Five Elements Array Eye.

Fire Spirit Root Kin, extract fire marrow from the geothermal fire and temper the surface of the platform base.

Ten people from each of the five spirit roots (metal, wood, water, fire, earth) set up a temporary array base around the platform base with Five Elements spiritual power.

Finally, embed the divine kingdom core fragment into the center of the platform base.

One thousand kin started moving simultaneously.

The volcanic rock was mined, cut, and polished into a smooth platform base.

Fire marrow flowed on the surface of the platform base, tempering the rock into a deep dark red.

Fifty Five Elements Kin sat around the platform base, the five-colored spiritual power of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth intertwined, forming a flowing halo.

Shen Ye took the divine kingdom core fragment from the resource bag—that fist-sized crystal with a galaxy flowing inside—with a thought, the crystal turned into a stream of light, submerged into the Cultivation Divine Kingdom, and was embedded in the center of the tribulation platform base.

The moment the platform base was completed, the sky darkened for a moment.

It wasn't dark clouds; it was a projection of the laws.

A pale golden beam of light rose from the center of the platform base, shot straight into the sky, and left a mark on the firmament of the divine kingdom that did not dissipate for a long time.

heavenly tribulation platform, built.

Seven days in divine kingdom time, less than twelve minutes in the outside world.

Gain Without Labor triggered. (Free ride activated!!!)

Shen Ye's consciousness swept toward the depths of the Land of Gods and Demons.

In the gray-black fog, a taller, more solemn tribulation platform stood silently.

Epic-grade high-quality heavenly tribulation platform.

The platform base was made of unknown dark golden stone material, with pale golden law patterns flowing on its surface.

Around the platform base, ten thunder-patterned stone pillars surrounded it, and at the top of each stone pillar floated a heavenly thunder stone—a real heavenly thunder stone, not a substitute.

Heavenly tribulation power reduced by 25%, tribulation success rate increased by 25%, and can accommodate one hundred people to undergo tribulation simultaneously.

Shen Ye opened his eyes.

The lights in the meditation room were dim.

The three blueprints had already dissipated into points of light.

But he could perceive the three higher-grade buildings deep in the Land of Gods and Demons—the Fine-grade high-quality Spirit Field, the Rare-grade high-quality Five Elements Array Eye: Metal, and the Epic-grade high-quality heavenly tribulation platform.

And the previously completed Mortal-grade high-quality Spirit Spring, Mortal-grade high-quality Holy Light Altar, and Mortal-grade high-quality Abyss Altar.

Less than twenty-four hours after awakening, there were already six buildings in the Land of Gods and Demons, all of which were of higher grade than similar buildings in the Cultivation Divine Kingdom.

Shen Ye put away the remaining seventy faith crystals and inserted the black crystal card—which held twenty million—into the card slot of his communicator.

Then he picked up the broken sword.

The sword body was cold, and there was a crack on the blade that extended from the guard to the tip.

Shen Ye's consciousness touched the sword body, and the sealed power deep within the sword body trembled slightly.

Wind and thunder intertwined and rotated, like a sleeping giant beast.

That was Gu Yan's full-strength strike when he broke through to True God.

Shen Ye put the broken sword back into the resource bag.

In the divine kingdom, the Spirit Field of the Land of Cultivation had already sown the first batch of spirit plant seeds.

The first streak of sword energy from the Five Elements Array Eye: Metal began to nourish two hundred Metal Spirit Root Kin.

The pale golden beam of light from the heavenly tribulation platform left a mark on the firmament of the divine kingdom, like a lighthouse, guiding the kin to climb to a higher realm.

In the Land of Gods and Demons, angels and succubi surrounded the six buildings and began a new round of construction.

Double Time had already begun to operate.

Gain Without Labor was waiting for the next trigger.

Eternal loyalty enveloped two thousand souls.

Principal Zhou Wenyin—True God 8th rank, a renegade of the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion, with one hundred and twenty-three years of deity life—placed her three most precious collections on an eighteen-year-old boy.

It wasn't charity; it was a gamble.

A gamble that he wouldn't die in battle like Fang Zhen, wouldn't disappear like Gu Yan, and wouldn't retire with regrets like He Man.

Shen Ye zipped up the resource bag.

Gu Yan's broken sword hummed slightly in the bag, like a silent entrustment.

Shen Ye stood up and pushed open the door of the meditation room.

The corridor was very quiet. In the direction of the dormitory building in the distance, someone was singing, someone was laughing, and someone was shouting "I want to become stronger" at the night sky on the balcony.

He walked towards the dormitory building.

In his pocket were twenty million, seventy faith crystals, and a broken sword.

Hidden in his divine kingdom were six buildings, three of which were Epic and Rare grades unseen by the rest of the world.

And an old principal who was a True God 8th rank, who had placed her unfinished theories, unfulfilled obsessions, and unavenged grudges all on him.

There were three hundred and sixty-five days left until the college entrance examination.

One year in the outside world was seven hundred and thirty years for him.

Shen Ye walked into the dormitory building.

Liu Yang was waiting for him at the door, holding two drinks.

"You were kept by the principal for so long? What did she say?"

Shen Ye took the drink and unscrewed the cap.

"Told me to develop well."

Liu Yang waited for a long time, only to find that he had nothing more to say, and widened his eyes: "That's it?"

"That's it."

Shen Ye took a sip.

It was cold and a little sweet.