All Things Are Contracts

It didn’t take long for the two to arrive at a large building that resembled a small castle. The sign above read “Academic Affairs Office” – this was where students’ academic credits were managed.

This was one of the busiest institutions in the academy, with students constantly coming and going.

“Academic credits are very important within the academy, equivalent to currency. You can earn credits by completing coursework, fulfilling tasks assigned by the academy, and in turn, you can exchange credits for some cultivation methods and pills. You can also spend credits to post tasks on the mission board, though all these tasks are subject to the academy’s approval,” Wu Mingyu explained to Zhanyue beside her.

Most students recognized Wu Mingyu and greeted her respectfully, while casting curious glances at Zhanyue.

“Who is that? A new student?”

“Not sure, but to be personally accompanied by Director Wu, he must have an extraordinary background.”

The two ignored the whispers and quickly entered an office.

“Director Wu, what brings you here?” The person sitting inside was a young woman.

“Xiaoli, you’re in charge of coordinating pill-related tasks, right? Please give me a list of the pill requests,” Director Wu said.

Xiaoli nodded and quickly handed a register to Director Wu.

“Take a look at this and see what pills you can contribute,” Director Wu said to Zhanyue.

Zhanyue took stock of the various pills in his divine ability space, then started flipping through the register. The divine ability space contained a large number of pills, a small portion of which were refined by Zhanyue himself, while most were made by Baizhi. To alleviate her lovesickness, Baizhi had been refining pills day and night, hoping these pills could be of help to Zhanyue. Now, the opportunity had finally come.

“Director Wu, who is this? Is he an alchemist?” Xiaoli asked quietly, standing to the side.

“A newly enrolled student. He’s a fourth-grade alchemist. Don’t ask anything more,” Director Wu said. If not for this person being personally recommended by the princess, why would she be so attentive? She was also curious about what made this person worthy of the princess’s attention.

“I have these three types of fifth-grade pills and seven types of fourth-grade pills. I’ve calculated, and it should be worth about ten thousand credits,” Zhanyue said, taking out bottle after bottle of pills from his divine ability space and placing them on the table.

Xiaoli’s mouth gaped open as she quickly took inventory of the pills. As the person in charge here, she herself was a third-grade alchemist. Higher-grade alchemists probably wouldn’t be willing to do such mundane work.

“Aren’t you a fourth-grade alchemist?” Xiaoli asked, looking at the few bottles of fifth-grade pills in confusion.

“These pills were given to me by a friend. Surely you don’t inquire about the origin of pills when they’re submitted?” Zhanyue asked.

“No, no, I was just curious. Indeed, this totals ten thousand five hundred credits. May I have your identity token?” Xiaoli said.

“Identity token?” Zhanyue was a bit confused.

“It’s this. I’ve already activated it for you,” Director Wu handed over the token given to Zhanyue by the princess.

Xiaoli took the token and operated on a formation stone platform for a while before returning it. “Alright, the credits have been transferred to your token.”

“Keep the token safe. It’s already been imprinted with your fingerprint and soul aura. Although others can’t use your token, getting a replacement is a very troublesome process,” Director Wu said as she handed back the token.

“Thank you. Director, where is the Boundless Tower?” Zhanyue asked.

Wu Mingyu was a bit exasperated. “You’re really in a hurry, aren’t you? You haven’t even familiarized yourself with life at the academy. Why don’t I take you to find a place to stay first? You can rest and prepare well before challenging the tower.”

“I appreciate your kindness, Director, but don’t Profound Realm students and those who haven’t entered the Profound Realm live in different areas? I’d like to get there in one step,” Zhanyue said.

“You’re certainly confident. Very well, I’ll take you there,” Director Wu said, seeing that she couldn’t dissuade him. After all, what’s youth without some ambition?

Xiaoli stood there stunned. This young man didn’t seem to have entered the Profound Realm, yet he wanted to challenge the Boundless Tower in advance? No wonder he exchanged over ten thousand credits.

The Boundless Tower, named after the saying “learning is boundless as the sea,” was one of the most important structures in the academy. Standing at a hundred stories tall, its appearance was ancient, predominantly red and black, standing in stark contrast to the surrounding white buildings. Even those who had advanced to the Spirit God Realm could find suitable training grounds within the Boundless Tower. Legend had it that the Boundless Tower was an ancient structure, preserved to this day by mysterious formations.

“Sister, have you been inside the Boundless Tower?” Zhanyue looked up at the hundred-story tower in amazement. Apart from the Illumination Goddess Statue, the Boundless Tower was the tallest structure.

“Yes, I have. The Boundless Tower has a hundred floors. I’ve reached the ninety-ninth floor, but the hundredth floor wasn’t open to me,” the Illumination Goddess said.

“Even you couldn’t access the hundredth floor?” Zhanyue was a bit surprised. After all, the Illumination Goddess was the strongest human from thousands of years ago to the present day. What mysteries could the hundredth floor hold?

“Don’t overthink it. The hundredth floor is still far beyond your reach. I won’t accompany you inside from here on. The Boundless Tower should be able to detect my presence, and we can’t let that interfere with your test,” the Illumination Goddess said.

“Alright,” Zhanyue naturally understood. Similarly, he didn’t plan to cheat using the Silver Moon Armor. There would be no point in that.

“Go on then,” Director Wu pointed at the main entrance at the base of the Boundless Tower. “Reaching the tenth floor is considered a pass, the eleventh floor is average, the twelfth floor is above average, and the thirteenth floor is excellent. This is the standard for those who have just entered the Profound Realm. If you can reach the tenth floor without having entered the Profound Realm, I can grade your performance as above average.”

“Thank you, Director, but I’m afraid I won’t need your concession,” Zhanyue smiled and walked towards the entrance.

Director Wu shook her head. “I don’t know if it’s confidence or arrogance. The Boundless Tower isn’t easy to conquer.” She found a nearby pavilion to rest, occasionally glancing towards the Boundless Tower.

Zhanyue placed his token on the Boundless Tower. A golden pillar of light burst from the top of the tower, shooting straight into the sky. Ten thousand credits were deducted, and the main door opened.

“Strange, the Profound Realm test is always before the new student test, isn’t it? Hasn’t it already passed? Why is the Boundless Tower activating again?” a student asked in surprise.

“It’s a golden light pillar, which means the participant is a student who hasn’t entered the Profound Realm. This is a special test that requires a full ten thousand credits and leadership approval to activate. Who is it? You should know that if you fail the test, those ten thousand credits are wasted. That’s no small amount.”

The entire academy was in a stir. The Boundless Tower usually emitted a purple light pillar, signifying a normal Profound Realm test. Now, it was the rare golden light pillar, meaning someone was attempting a cross-realm challenge. Cross-realm battles weren’t uncommon, but the Boundless Tower was different. It seemed particularly strict with those who hadn’t entered the Profound Realm, with the difficulty even surpassing that for ordinary Profound Beings. A long time ago, quite a few arrogant students had attempted it, but gradually everyone understood this fact: the Boundless Tower didn’t encourage cross-realm challenges. Since the academy’s establishment, only four people had completed the cross-realm test.

Three of them were spirit contractors, and the fourth, also the most recent, was the Imperial Princess Mi Hongchen, who was also the only dragon contractor. Now that someone else had come to challenge, how could people not be excited?

“Place your bets! Let’s guess how many floors this person can pass. I’ll start with a number: the fifth floor.”

“The fifth floor? If someone has this much confidence, they shouldn’t be that weak. I bet they’ll narrowly fail on the ninth floor!”

In an instant, the entire academy seemed to be drawn to this change in the Boundless Tower, making it the center of attention.

Deep within the academy, atop a detached building, there was a tea table. This spot offered an excellent view of the academy. Around the tea table sat four stunningly beautiful women, each as lovely as chrysanthemums in autumn or plum blossoms in winter.

“It’s truly fortunate for our Eastern Kingdom that Sister Gong has agreed to take up a position here,” said the speaker, who was none other than the Eastern Kingdom’s female war god – Princess Mi Hongchen. She was actually in the academy at this moment.

The “Sister Gong” she referred to was naturally Gong Xiaoyu from the Thousand Charms Empire.

“Not at all. I’m here at Wind Lord’s request, just staying for a year. Don’t expect me to do anything special,” Gong Xiaoyu sipped the excellent tea with a smile on her face. Looking at Mi Hongchen, there was a hint of fighting spirit in her eyes. People had always been curious about who was the top expert below the Spirit God Realm between her and Mi Hongchen.

The other two women whispering to each other were the Light Holy Maiden Lixi and the young girl from the Moon Reflection Pavilion.

As the four chatted idly, they saw a golden light shoot straight into the sky from the Boundless Tower, immediately catching their attention.

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