stjorthotic Chapter 9 Magma Fire Lotus
Chapter 9 Magma Fire Lotus
In the classroom, Chen Zheng glanced at Jiang Mo: "You told me about the power rankings yesterday, was that on purpose?"
"No, didn't you ask me how to quickly earn points? I just told you there was such a way," Jiang Mo denied.
Chen Zheng gave him the middle finger.
Class hadn't started yet, and Chen Zheng glanced at the classroom before falling into deep thought.
The weakest on the combat power ranking are all level eight martial artists. To obtain the ranking points rewards, one's cultivation level must be at least level eight.
But then another problem arises: without points, he can't exchange for elixirs, and without elixirs, he can't quickly improve his strength.
Chen Zheng stroked his chin and pondered, "Isn't there any other way to quickly gain points?"
"Yes, I have."
Hearing Chen Zheng's mutterings, Jiang Mo chimed in with interest, "For example, if you donate a million or so to the school, you can get a thousand points in a 1 in 1,000 ratio."
The purchasing power ratio between school points and new coins is 1:100, but points cannot be used for direct purchases; they can only be converted through donations at a ratio of 1:1000.
Chen Zheng rolled his eyes: "If I had that money, I would have gone to the Martial Arts Alliance to buy Qi and Blood Pills directly. Why would I donate it to the school?"
"Don't worry, if this one doesn't work, we can try another one. You can try completing our rune system's bounty missions."
"Even the worst reward is 500 points. For example, Bai Su got 1500 points last semester for repairing a rune circuit board."
"These are all terrible ideas. If I had that kind of strength, why would I bother with the power rankings? I'd just do practice problems." Chen Zheng shook his head, too lazy to pay attention to this guy.
As the two were talking, a man in his early forties with graying hair walked into the classroom. He was Song Hui, their class teacher from Class 9, and the classroom immediately fell silent.
"Almost everyone's here. Today is the first day of the new semester, and I have a few things to say."
Song Hui's voice wasn't loud, but everyone could hear it clearly.
"First, the pass rate for the final exam of the 300 basic runes last semester was 87%. Those who did not pass will have a make-up exam next Wednesday. This is the last chance."
Some people immediately lowered their heads guiltily, after all, they had failed a course in the first semester.
Song Hui continued, "In addition to the basic academic tasks, we are required to add an academic research project, which can be freely organized into teams of three to ten people."
"For each complex rune array that a team completes with no fewer than 100 runes, they will receive a reward of 1,000 to 5,000 points, depending on the difficulty."
One thousand points!
A collective gasp filled the classroom, not from excitement, but from the feeling that there was so little to experience.
Even Chen Zheng frowned at this academic task.
The runes in this world are "traces" recorded by powerful beings of a certain civilization when they comprehend the universe, representing some kind of power or mystery of heaven and earth.
They resemble pictographs, some are very complex, while others are just a few simple strokes.
A single basic rune itself has no special power, just as a single letter cannot produce a complete musical note; it only has a complete energy structure.
Therefore, learning runes requires not only memorizing the runes, but also inscribing the complete energy structure on a special stone slab to be considered as having mastered them.
If a section of the inscribed rune is even a millimeter deeper, or a point is even a tiny bit shallower, or if too much energy is condensed, it can cause energy blockage and prevent the rune from resonating.
The application of runes is even more complex. For example, several unrelated runes can be combined together and infused with blood and qi to instantly unleash terrifying energy, just like nuclear fission.
Some combinations of hundreds of runes have a complete structure and smooth energy flow, but their effect is simply to prevent nightmares and improve sleep quality.
As a key university specializing in the study of runes, Jiangzhou University's academic task for the first semester of freshmen is to learn three hundred basic runes. Now, however, they are required to replicate the structural diagram composed of one hundred runes, making the difficulty imaginable.
Someone raised their hand: "Teacher Song, does replicating a complex formation mean copying an existing formation diagram, or modifying it yourself?"
"Replicating is not innovation. First, thoroughly understand what others have done; innovation comes later."
At this moment, a girl raised her hand: "Teacher, can we form teams from different classes?"
"Sure, as long as they're in the same year as students in the Rune Academy."
"Teacher, are the points rewards distributed in a lump sum or in installments?"
"The funds will be distributed in a lump sum after the project passes acceptance; the team will allocate them independently."
"These points are not easy to get." Chen Zheng shook his head. Although he was also tempted, it was almost impossible for him to get those thousand points with his rune score.
"Alright, let's begin the lesson."
"In the first lesson, I will explain a rune that is relatively difficult to inscribe among the basic runes."
On the large screen, you can clearly see the homeroom teacher holding a scalpel-like carving knife, his blood and energy flowing freely, carving on a one-centimeter-thick black stone slab on the lectern.
The large screen simultaneously magnified the runes under the blade dozens of times.
Energy maps and optical maps clearly illuminate the energy of heaven and earth that is drawn in and slowly gathers when the blood and runes are inscribed.
As the inscription was completed, the ∮ runes, resembling mathematical units, appeared instantly on the stone tablet, accompanied by a burst of energy light synchronized with the detection equipment.
These are runes, each representing a trace of some kind of celestial power. Once successfully inscribed, they will gather and attract surrounding free energy to form a resonance.
Explanations of knowledge can be dry, but if you can get into it, you'll find it very interesting.
But just as Chen Zheng was concentrating on his studies... suddenly his eyes lit up, and in a flash of consciousness, he descended into the abyss of hell.
Along the edge of the cave, which is over 100 meters high and wide, a small stream of lava flows, five or six meters wide, with flames leaping and their light illuminating the cave.
The sweltering air filled the cave, where a black-armored earth dragon, now 4.6 meters tall and with a shoulder height exceeding 2 meters, stood amidst a pile of rubble.
Chen Zheng didn't fall asleep until 3 a.m. last night. He killed seven monsters of varying sizes, so the Black Armored Earth Dragon was much larger than yesterday. In addition, its ferocious appearance made it somewhat intimidating.
When Chen Zheng woke up in the morning, he used a portion of his consciousness to control the black-armored earth dragon to "wake up" in sync and carefully explore the surroundings.
However, no monsters have been found all morning. Instead, a large, bowl-sized, murky crystal stone with a metallic sheen has been discovered.
This thing is very similar to the description of extraordinary minerals, so I need to confirm it.
"I wonder if I can use the talent of Plundering All Spirits after I fully regain consciousness. If I can't, I can only take it back for testing." Chen Zheng thought to himself.
hum!
The unique buzzing of the Wanling talent emanated, and a cooling power spread to the human body's mind, covering consciousness. Instantly, the vision in the black-armored earth dragon's eyes changed.
However, unlike the effect in a human body, the world in the eyes of the Black Armored Earth Dragon is a bright red, as if seen through a thin veil.
However, it still works.
Within the murky crystal, the Black Armored Earth Dragon spotted some bright red veins, confirming that they were extraordinary minerals.
And... Chen Zheng looked towards the lava river, where two red plants that resembled lotus flowers but had only lotus pedestals and no leaves were emerging from the lava.
In the eyes of the Black Armored Earth Dragon, there were only some slender red threads under the lotus stems; all the essence was concentrated in the two lotus pods.
"There are actually two extraordinary plants. Whether they are medicinal herbs or poisons will only be known after testing."
Elixirs are different from minerals. The medicinal power of elixirs varies depending on the environment and the plant from which they are produced. Some can enhance one's cultivation level, while others will kill one upon consumption.
Chen Zheng wasn't sure if the spiritual essence extracted when Wanling plundered the extraordinary poison contained any poison.
"Let's get started."
Boom! The black-armored earth dragon's claw, the size of a washbasin, slammed into the lava, hurling the lotus plant and a shower of sparks onto the shore. Sparks flew everywhere, and the lotus stems instantly turned to ashes the moment they left the lava, leaving only two red lotus pods.
Although the magma temperature is as high as hundreds or thousands of degrees Celsius, the Black Armored Earth Dragon's claws are strong enough that it will not be injured as long as it moves fast enough.
Next, the Black Armored Earth Dragon searched the riverbank again and found three extraordinary ores on the surface of some rocks. It pried them out and put them into its soul space along with the lotus.
"Not bad, that's like getting dozens of points for free." Chen Zheng nodded in satisfaction, then part of his consciousness left.