Chapter 55: Delivering Primordial Stones to the Senior Students

Although Chu Tianchen had not had much contact with Lin Shengbin, he still had some understanding of the man's typical behavior. Given his nature, the reason he did not come to cause trouble for him today was likely because he was waiting for the upcoming freshman trial in the Beast Mountain Range.

However, he did not take Lin Shengbin to heart at all.

If Lin Shengbin insisted on stirring up trouble, he would not mind sending him to complete oblivion.

His true targets were Yin Taixu and Lin Yurou.

Ever since the palm strike that Yin Taixu unleashed against his grandmother in Zhentian City, Chu Tianchen had already placed these two individuals on his personal death list.

On the other side, after returning to the inner court, Xiao Fan grew more furious the more he thought about it.

"Just how much longer is Xiao Ningtian going to remain in seclusion! Our Xiao Gate is hailed as the number one faction in Yunhai Academy; if we want a Pill Hall, why not just seize it outright? What happened today made us lose face completely."

Xiao Fan said angrily.

"The Yunhai Pill Hall is not the only faction eyeing it; the other eight major gates are doing the exact same thing."

"No matter what, it currently belongs to Yunhai Academy."

"Sending you there this time was merely to test Mu Ran's attitude. It seems quite clear now—he will not cooperate with us."

"Since that is the case, there is no need to take him into consideration in our future plans."

"Six months from now, the contract between the Pill Hall and Yunhai Academy will expire. According to previous agreements, Yunhai Academy holds the right of first refusal. However, whoever secures the Pill Hall then can buy out the contract from the academy all at once. That will be our golden opportunity."

"Since Mu Ran can no longer be relied upon, we shall simply invite an alchemist from the Greater World."

"You must fight to secure the throne of the Human Sovereign; Ningtian's future cultivation resources will still depend on the Great Qian Dynasty to sustain them."

The pure black-robed, one-eyed beautiful woman spoke.

This one-eyed woman was none other than the biological mother of Xiao Fan and Xiao Ningtian.

"Mother, what if we fail?"

"With our strength, can we really contend against the Imperial Father?"

Xiao Fan asked, his face filled with worry.

"How many times must I tell you not to call him Imperial Father? He is unworthy!"

"The filthy deeds he committed will be brought to light one day."

"If not for him, you and Ningtian would possess the purest bloodline of our clan."

The woman said angrily.

Hearing this, Xiao Fan fell silent for a moment.

"Are everything you said true? When Xiao Ningtian and I were born, was he truly going to use the two of us as ingredients to refine medicine?"

"Just to help himself break through to the Myriad Phenomena Realm?"

Xiao Fan asked cautiously.

Immediately, the woman glared at him.

"Mother, I believe your words. Then we shall wait for Xiao Ningtian to emerge from seclusion. During this time, I will continue to manage the Xiao Gate well and think of other ways to procure resources for Xiao Ningtian's cultivation."

"However, there is someone I must mention to you. That is the descendant of the Chu family—the sole survivor of the Manor of the General whose assets were recently confiscated—Chu Tianchen has also arrived at Yunhai Academy."

"If not for him today, I might have actually negotiated with Mu Ran. He ruined everything."

"Should I send someone to assassinate him?"

Xiao Fan said, murderous intent filling his eyes.

Thinking about how he had suffered a setback at Chu Tianchen's hands earlier that day, he felt an inexplicable surge of rage.

"The Chu family is already gone; what waves can a mere orphan possibly stir up? Kill him if you wish, but I am warning you, do not pull off such stunts within Yunhai Academy."

"We have remained in Yunhai Academy for so many years for more than just the throne of the Human Sovereign. The Yunhai Secret Realm will open soon, and we must not create complications at this juncture."

"I can sense that an increasing number of powerful experts are closing in on Yunhai Academy. They are undoubtedly arriving for the sake of the Yunhai Secret Realm."

"Continue searching for cultivation resources. If all else fails, lead people deep into the Beast Mountain Range to hunt high-level fierce beasts. We must never let Ningtian's efforts go to waste because of a lack of cultivation resources."

His mother instructed.

"Rest assured, Mother. To kill that piece of trash, I don't even need to dirty my own hands."

Xiao Fan said.

No one knew what had transpired between them and the current Human Sovereign, but judging from their conversation, the woman clearly knew a great deal about the Sovereign.

She even knew about the annihilation of the Chu family.

Yet the Human Sovereign had not taken action against them and had even allowed Xiao Fan to participate in the contention for the imperial throne. The intent behind this remained entirely unknown.

However, just as she herself had said, the truth behind everything would eventually come to light.

After Xiao Fan left, a tear fell from the woman's eye.

"Xiao Jinghuan, back then you climbed to the top by relying on me and the Chu family. Now that the Chu family has been dealt with by you, am I next?"

"Do you truly believe that my only asset is this tiny Xiao Gate of mine?"

"I am not as foolish, loyal, or patriotic as the Chu family."

"Once the Yunhai Secret Realm closes, I will personally lead Ningtian and Fan'an to take your imperial throne!"

"The agony of you gouging out my eye, I will repay tenfold!"

The woman swore fiercely.

...

Inside his dormitory, Chu Tianchen sat in meditation for an entire day.

The outer court lacked dedicated cultivation chambers, leaving disciples with no choice but to cultivate in their dormitories or seek out quiet locations elsewhere.

Still, the spiritual Qi within their dormitories was somewhat denser than that of the outside world, which was precisely the reason why the vast majority of disciples fought tooth and nail to enter Yunhai Academy.

Naturally, their ultimate objective was to gain entry into the inner court.

Chu Tianchen had already experienced the cultivation rooms of the inner court; the primordial spiritual Qi contained within them was at least ten times that of the outside world, and cultivating amidst such density guaranteed twice the results with half the effort.

Furthermore, the higher the level, the denser the spiritual Qi became.

By nightfall, Wang Teng and the other two still had not returned to the dormitory.

Chu Tianchen paid it no mind; after all, everyone had their own cultivation methods.

With them absent, his cultivation environment was all the more peaceful.

Thus, he produced a batch of primordial stones and resumed circulating the *Nine Dragons Swallowing Heaven Art* to cultivate.

He did not force himself to halt until the late hours of the night. Although he craved strength, he also needed time to digest his gains and consolidate his primordial energy; otherwise, engaging in combat later would easily lead to a state of superficial and unstable energy.

That would significantly diminish the potency of his power.

Yet, after sleeping for a mere two hours, Chu Tianchen rose. With the *Ice Soul Sword Classic* flashing through his mind, he began practicing his sword techniques and divine abilities.

Drawing upon this sword manual and the inheritance of the Dragon Emperor, he had already comprehended sword intent.

Although he was still at the threshold stage, this was a distant and unattainable dream for the vast majority of people.

"Tomorrow, I should find some time to acquire a reliable sword."

Chu Tianchen thought to himself.

After all, he was still incapable of achieving the unity of man and sword. Having a divine weapon in hand would allow him to better unleash the destructive power of his sword techniques.

For three consecutive days, Chu Tianchen did not step foot outside his dormitory, and during this period, Wang Teng and the others remained absent.

It was not until the evening of the fourth day that the trio mysteriously returned from outside.

"Big Brother Tianchen, when did you get back?"

Mo Xiaolang asked with a smile.

Chu Tianchen smiled and gave a brief reply.

"Then have you prepared your primordial stones? Tomorrow is the freshman trial in the Beast Mountain Range."

Mo Xiaolang asked next.

"Prepare primordial stones? What does a freshman trial have to do with preparing primordial stones?"

A trace of bewilderment flickered across Chu Tianchen's face.

"You really had no idea. Do you have ten thousand lower-grade primordial stones on you? If not, the three of us can see if we can pool enough together for you."

Wang Teng added.

Chu Tianchen still failed to understand.

"The freshman trial, to put it bluntly, is simply a way to hand over primordial stones to the senior students of the academy. If you can't cough up ten thousand lower-grade primordial stones, you'll be in miserable shape."

"You might even face mortal danger."

Wang Teng explained.