55: Six stars, Spirit Pool

Shi Yuan let out a light chuckle.

"One can tell from this as well."

"They really are getting desperate."

Shi Lanzhi nodded.

"Indeed."

"The Dark Cultist Throne is unpredictable and mysterious."

"Situations where two Thrones appear simultaneously with such fanfare are extremely rare."

He turned his head.

"It's all thanks to the information provided by Lin Yan."

"That we were able to react so quickly."

Speaking of which...

"How were you able to determine that the girl named Mia would be an important member of the Dark Cultists?"

He paused.

"Of course."

"If it involves your own secrets, you don't have to say."

As the words fell.

Everyone in the meeting room cast curious glances.

Especially Mo Fan.

He felt even more indignant in his heart.

Right.

Keep it from me, just keep it from me!

Is it because my cultivation isn't high enough, and you're afraid I can't hold down the fort?

Actually...

His thoughts were completely correct.

Lin Yan smiled.

"Actually, it's nothing much."

"Everyone knows that I can easily distinguish Dark Cultists with these eyes of mine."

"And the reason I dared to conclude she was likely an important member of the Dark Cultists..."

"...is the concentration of Exotic Beast blood in her body."

Hmm?

Everyone raised their eyebrows slightly.

Shi Yuan immediately spoke up.

"Exotic Beast blood concentration?"

Lin Yan nodded.

"Yes."

"Or rather, the grade of the Exotic Beast blood."

He scanned the room and continued.

"The grade and concentration of the blood in Mia's meridians is the highest I've seen in my several encounters with Dark Cultist members."

"It exceeds their so-called Extreme Seats."

"That's why I suspected this was a conspiracy directed at me."

"They definitely had others in places I couldn't see."

"Most likely some Rank Eight or Nine Martial Artists and quite a few Extreme Seats."

So that was it.

Liu Bai and the others understood.

No wonder the boss suddenly called for a gathering.

Fine, fine, fine.

As expected, they think I'm too weak.

Mo Fan muttered in his heart.

Shi Yuan pondered for a moment.

Since it was seen with his eyes, it must be unique to him.

He had originally wondered if this kid had some method he could share.

"Any other discoveries?"

Lin Yan thought for a while.

"Combat instinct."

"Mia's eyes were very clear after her meridians manifested."

"Unlike some Dark Cultist members I've seen whose eyes were bloodshot and whose aura was extremely violent."

Shi Yuan's mind raced as he slowly looked up, his gaze seemingly piercing through the base toward a very distant place.

"So..."

"The Ocean Exotic Beasts control the Dark Cultist Throne."

"The Throne uses the blood of Exotic Beasts to guide individual Martial Artists."

"Thereby forming a strict hierarchy of control."

"In that case..."

"That Mia is very likely a Dark Cultist Prodigy who received an injection of King Rank Exotic Beast blood."

"To put it another way..."

"This time, they lost a candidate for the Throne."

Lin Yan's heart stirred slightly.

He heard a word.

Ocean.

If the inland Exotic Beast Secret Realms had become resource gathering grounds for humanity...

...then the countless Secret Realms shrouding the ocean were the constant supply stations for the Exotic Beasts.

No wonder they hadn't been able to completely wipe out the Dark Cultists for so many years.

If the masterminds behind it were the Ocean Exotic Beasts, then it made sense.

"Alright."

"The Modu Branch has achieved great merit this time."

"I will approve contribution points for all of you when I get back."

Shi Yuan scanned the crowd.

"The Speaker is also very concerned about the recent events."

"The Blue Star Supreme Meeting is about to be initiated."

"I won't stay here any longer."

After speaking, he waved his hand to stop the several people who wanted to stand up and walked out of the meeting room.

Shi Lanzhi watched Shi Yuan leave and turned to smile at everyone.

"You didn't get enough of New Year's Eve, right?"

"Mo Fan."

"Make the arrangements."

Mo Fan sprang up, his eyes full of excitement.

"Received!"

"Wooohoo!"

Sikong Gang let out a whistle.

Smiles appeared on the cold faces of Liu Bai, Li Ping, and Shi Jun.

Lin Yan took all this in, looking stunned.

No way.

Is the entire Modu Branch really like this?

He glanced at the System.

[Overlord: Naturally possesses both courage and strategy. The Host saw through the scheme, fully utilized the strength behind him to heavily damage the enemy, and personally killed a key figure. Overlord Index: Six Stars. charge value: 120%]

Oh?

Lin Yan raised an eyebrow.

That much?

Then I'll go along and have some fun too.

A night of silence... ten days later.

Boom—!

Scorching Qi and blood surged in the cultivation room.

Lin Yan slowly opened his eyes and looked at the numerous withered Spirit Medicines placed before him.

The harvest of numerous Rank One, Two, and Three Spirit Medicines from the Secret Realm over half a month had been completely absorbed in ten days.

As expected, the higher the cultivation, the faster these Spirit Medicines were absorbed.

Rank Four, Third Stage.

He was one step closer to his cultivation goal for challenging the Intermediate kings road.

And with this...

...the cultivation resources in his hands were also completely used up.

While deep in thought, his gaze moved to the System.

[charge value]: 142%

What remained was this.

He hadn't used it yet.

He hadn't decided whether to use Fusion on two Martial Skills to reach earth extreme Low Grade Perfection or to do a lucky draw.

Or perhaps...

...keep it and wait until he had high-grade cultivation resources before using it.

Lin Yan stood up.

Old Duan seemed to have something to talk to him about a few days ago.

He would go find out the situation first... "Knock, knock, knock..."

"Come in."

Lin Yan walked in and sat casually on the sofa.

"You're here."

Hearing the familiar voice...

Duan Tiancheng looked up and smiled.

"Finished Cultivating?"

"It's rare for you, kid, to be well-behaved for a few days."

Lin Yan gave him a disgruntled look.

"What's up?"

"Just say it."

He made it sound like Lin Yan loved going around causing trouble.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry."

"I really don't know what you're in such a rush for all day long."

Duan Tiancheng leisurely took a sip of tea.

"School is about to start."

"I've told Brother Quan."

"He doesn't need to worry about you anymore."

"Don't go participating in monthly exams or anything like that."

"To avoid discouraging my dear students."

"I'll just give you the first-place rewards every month directly."

Lin Yan raised an eyebrow.

"That's it?"

"You wanted me to make a special trip for such a small thing?"

After speaking, he started to lift his butt to leave.

"You little..."

Duan Tiancheng's eyes widened.

"Can't you show some respect to the Principal and let this old man finish speaking?"

Lin Yan nodded.

"Fine, fine, fine, you speak."

This kid...

Duan Tiancheng was helpless.

"Do you know about the Spirit Pools established in The Four Great Ones?"

The Spirit Pools specifically prepared by The Four Great Ones for their school's prodigies, which only open once a year?!

Whoosh—!

Lin Yan instantly sat back down, legs together, body straight, with a smile on his face.

"Principal."

"I only know a little bit."

"Please continue."

Duan Tiancheng's mouth hung open slightly.

Good, good, good.

You kid couldn't change your face any faster.

He took a breath to steady himself.

"Because of the golden age..."

"...the higher-ups have directly taken over the four Spirit Pools and increased resource investment."

"So accordingly, the quotas and scope have also changed."

"Besides the top sixty-four from the Freshman Grand Competition who can enter directly, all universities can sign up and participate in the competition based on their own school's prodigies."

Lin Yan's eyes lit up.

"Meaning I can go directly?"

"When do we set out?"

Duan Tiancheng glanced at him.

"Don't be in such a hurry."

"What I want to tell you is that although you've obtained a spot in the pool, it's only at the edge."

"If you want to get a good position, I suggest you still compete for a ranking when the time comes."

Lin Yan understood instantly.

"Don't worry."

"I will definitely beat them all until they're crippled."

"To spread our school's fame."

"So, are we setting out now?"

No...

Duan Tiancheng opened his mouth.

Is that what I meant?

Even if you've reached the level of an outstanding graduate from a First-Class University...

...the competitors this time are from Magic Martial University!

To put it bluntly, this Spirit Pool is a reward for the graduating prodigies of The Four Great Ones.

It's only because of the golden age that they're letting little fellows like you and some possible dark horses in to get some scraps.

And he naturally gave the suggestion to strive for a high ranking because he understood Lin Yan's strength.

In the end, when it came out of this kid's mouth, the meaning completely changed.

Beating them all until they're crippled.

You're a freshman, and you want to solo carry against Magic Martial?