40: The terror of the Crimson Dragon Pool and the twenty thousand taels of silver

"Red Dragon Pool!"

"Martial Emperor's Relic!"

...Hearing the four words 'Martial Emperor's Relic,' even though Lin Yi had long known that the Dongshan Martial Academy possessed a treasure left behind by the Martial God, he couldn't help but be deeply shaken at this moment.

The Martial God—he is the legend of the entire Jiuzhou World!

In the legends, the Martial God possessed a startling Genius, the likes of which had never been seen before!

Not only did he single-handedly create the Martial Dao from nothing and suppress the world, but he also founded other paths such as Alchemy Dao, Artifact Dao, Formation Dao, and even the Path of Puppetry.

In the six thousand-plus years since the Nine Provinces entered the Martial Dao Era, the number of Prodigies born in history is countless.

However, not a single one of their achievements could reach even a hundredth, or even a thousandth, of the Martial God's.

Whether it was in the Martial Dao, Alchemy Dao, Artifact Dao, or any other Dao, none could compare!

It could be said that the Martial God is the legend of the entire Nine Provinces, an unprecedented existence akin to a deity!

As thoughts swirled in his mind, thinking of the various legends of the Martial God, Lin Yi's heart couldn't help but surge with excitement.

After taking several deep breaths in succession, he finally managed to slowly calm his agitated emotions and asked Zhao Haihong once more:

"Principal, may I ask what the function of this Red Dragon Pool is?"

"The function of the Red Dragon Pool is very simple! It is to raise cultivation! It helps Martial Artists rapidly increase their cultivation level!"

As he spoke, Zhao Haihong's expression turned solemn as he continued his introduction:

"The Red Dragon Pool is a very miraculous treasure; it is unknown what Materials it was crafted from or how it was refined."

"It is about one zhang in diameter and is golden-yellow overall, with four golden divine dragons carved in the four cardinal directions: east, south, west, and north."

"These four golden divine dragons close their eyes during the day and open them at night to absorb Moon Essence, which is then converted into the purest Heaven and Earth Origin Qi and integrated into the water of the Red Dragon Pool."

"Afterward, as long as Martial Artists soak in the pool water and circulate their Breathing Technique, they can rapidly raise their cultivation by absorbing this Heaven and Earth Origin Qi."

"You must understand that this Heaven and Earth Origin Qi is the purest energy in the world, and absorbing it places no burden on the body."

"Essentially, as soon as this energy enters the body, it can be immediately converted into the Martial Artist's own Qi and Blood power, directly skipping the steps of refinement and digestion, thus saving a vast amount of time."

"Furthermore, the Red Dragon Pool has another function: it can significantly increase the daily limit of energy a Martial Artist can absorb."

"For example, a Martial Artist of the same Aptitude might only be able to absorb one unit of energy a day before practicing in the Red Dragon Pool, but after entering it, they could absorb five, ten, or even more units of energy daily!"

"In this way, combined with the special effect of pure energy being easy to absorb, one's cultivation speed will naturally advance by leaps and bounds!"

"What! That's incredible!"

Hearing the detailed information about the Red Dragon Pool, Lin Yi was now completely shocked.

As expected of a relic left by the Martial God, its power truly exceeds the imagination!

Refining Moon Essence, coupled with increasing a Martial Artist's daily energy absorption limit.

With this combination of effects, it could easily increase a Martial Artist's cultivation speed by more than tenfold!

In that case, even an ordinary person could directly become a cultivation Genius.

And those who were already geniuses would evolve directly into Prodigies!

As for a peerless Prodigy like himself who possessed the Martial Dao Sacred Body, Lin Yi didn't even dare to imagine how fast his cultivation speed would become!

At this thought, an endless yearning immediately rose in Lin Yi's heart, and he quickly asked Zhao Haihong again:

"Principal, this Red Dragon Pool is indeed miraculous. May I ask what I must do to enter it?"

"It's simple! Just place in the top three of the Academy Grand Competition held at the end of every month in our Dongshan Martial Academy."

After saying this, Zhao Haihong smiled slightly:

"After all, even in our Dongshan Martial Academy, the number of Red Dragon Pools is very scarce; there are only two in the entire academy."

"Furthermore, one of these two pools is reserved for the new Disciples and those who have been in the academy for a year, leaving only the other one entirely for Disciples like you who are nearing graduation."

"And a single Red Dragon Pool can be used for at most six to seven shichen a day, so it is destined that only a very small number of Disciples in the academy can use this treasure."

"As for this small number, it is generally set by the Head Principal himself; sometimes it's five people, sometimes three, and sometimes even just two, all depending on the situation."

"For your batch of Disciples, the number specified by the Head Principal is three."

"Additionally, the duration for which these three Disciples can use the Red Dragon Pool is arranged according to their rank."

"The first-place winner can use it for half the time, which is three to three and a half shichen. The second-place winner uses two-thirds of the remaining time, which is two shichen or a bit more."

"As for the third-place winner, their usage time is much less, generally only one shichen or a bit more."

"However, even if it can only be used for one shichen a day, after accumulating it for a month, the speed of progress will still be at least three times faster than usual."

"Therefore, in our Dongshan Martial Academy, the Disciples with the strength to compete for the top three—those who can consistently rank in the top five of every monthly competition—generally have cultivation levels significantly higher than other Disciples, basically all at the Sixth Rank, Late Stage or above."

"As for their Force Exertion Realm, Martial Arts Techniques, and so on, they are also not weaker than yours; most are even slightly stronger."

"Are they that strong?"

Hearing Zhao Haihong's words, Lin Yi couldn't help but feel some pressure.

Sixth Rank, Late Stage, with Force-Exertion and Martial Arts Techniques comparable to his own—this strength was indeed very formidable.

Even though he had the Martial Dao Sacred Body and many talents, Lin Yi estimated that it would take him at least several months or even half a year to surpass them.

And this amount of time, for Lin Yi who had risen in just a few months, felt a bit too long.

"However, things being as they are, I have no other choice for the time being."

Lin Yi sighed inwardly:

"After all, my Limit of Strength Realm and Martial Arts Techniques just broke through not long ago; it's impossible to achieve another Breakthrough in a short period."

"As for my martial cultivation, with the Martial Dao Sacred Body, breaking through is easy for me."

"But no matter how easy it is, it doesn't happen out of thin air; it requires resources and Medicinal Pills for assistance."

"But now, where do I have the money to buy Medicinal Pills and resources?"

Thinking of this, Lin Yi felt somewhat helpless.

During the previous month and a half of cultivation, he had already spent all the silver he had previously obtained.

Now, he only had a few dozen taels of pocket money left on him, and he couldn't even afford a single tiger tendon leopard blood pill, let alone other more precious pills. He was truly, utterly broke!

Shaking his head slightly, Lin Yi then gently adjusted his breathing to regain his composure before smiling and speaking to Zhao Haihong again:

"Thank you, Principal. I appreciate you clearing up my confusion; I now fully understand the details regarding the Two Treasures of Dongshan."

"Since my current strength isn't enough to enter the Red Dragon Pool, then please take me to the Scribble Tower first, Principal!"

"After all, I also want to see how miraculous the Scribble Tower is, which gathers the martial essence of the strong from generations of the Dongshan Martial Academy."

"Perhaps I might even see some Scribbling in the Scribble Tower that perfectly fits me, have an Epiphany, and break through my martial arts to the Fourth Rank, Perfection! By then, I'll have the strength to compete for a top-three spot, haha!"

"Hehe! You little fellow, your mindset is quite good."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Haihong also laughed:

"I originally thought you would be upset for a while because you couldn't enter the Red Dragon Pool, but I didn't expect you to adjust so quickly."

"This Heart-Nature is much stronger than those few little fellows in the top five of the Dongshan Martial Academy. No wonder my clan brother thought so highly of you, even specially borrowing twenty thousand taels of silver from me before leaving today, telling me to give it to you once I'd gathered it."

"What!"

"The Principal gave me silver before he left? And it's twenty thousand taels!"

Hearing this, Lin Yi's heart jolted, followed immediately by wild joy.