ASER - Chapter 140
Chapter 140: Approaching
A corpse is a corpse; it can't come back to life.
A'Diao roasted their ancestors, then continued to take stock of the thank-you gifts from the Xiao siblings and Huayao Bank.
Xiao siblings' thank-you gift: a 30 billion transfer card + 5000 Skeletal Remains + one tombstone.
Huayao Bank's thank-you gift: one corpse (seemed to be the corpse of a Grandmaster from the First Era).
A'Diao: "..."
In this era of spiritual energy revival, thank-you gifts were either bones, tombstones, or corpses.
Yet, she was quite pleased.
A bit perverted, huh.
"Let me see, what is this tombstone? The characters on it look like ancient Brahmi script? Damn it, Qu Jiangnan and the others didn't teach this."
Toilet: "This is an ancient Dao Tablet from the First Era, used for comprehending Dao Intent. The more Dao Intent one comprehends, the stronger they become, whether Star Rank or Grandmaster, and breakthroughs become easier. This is because when Dao Intent is integrated into techniques, the power enhancement is particularly strong... Without this Dao Tablet, most people can only begin to grasp Dao Intent after breaking through to Star Rank. But with it, those with high aptitude can start grasping Dao Intent even at the Glimmer Rank. For those two siblings to give you one, they probably have more than one on hand."
A'Diao had a realization. "Then I understand why Xiao Jin and Xiao Mieluo were both at the scene, yet there was no word on how Dongguo Jiaoqing died. It's likely either the Xiao Clan has another expert, or one of them present at the time was a puppet, and their main body went out to kill."
Toilet: "Not necessarily a puppet, it could be a doppelganger."
A'Diao: "?"
Toilet: "The Brahmi script on this Dao Tablet means 'doppelganger,' a Dao Intent doppelganger. Once you fully comprehend it, besides the Dao Intent you've previously cultivated, you'll also gain its recognition and be able to cultivate a doppelganger. Xiao Jin should have already mastered it, which is why she gave it to you, because you genuinely need it. This person is formidable."
A'Diao was also amazed. This item was indeed a timely gift for her. As long as she had a doppelganger, Zhao Ritian and Chen A'Diao could exist simultaneously.
However, this thing would definitely not be easy to cultivate.
"You actually understand Brahmi script? I always thought your education level wasn't high." A'Diao was even more amazed by this.
Toilet: "Pah!"
A'Diao laughed heartily. As she opened Huayao Bank's thank-you gift, something fell out.
An armor core.
After A'Diao activated and bound it, the armor core released a set of soft armor, as thin as cicada wings.
At the same time, Huayao Bank sent a message to her account— "Esteemed customer, you have now received the Phantom Armor, recently developed by our Huayao Bank. This armor is forged using Space Star Stone mined from Planet Tianji 01. Its greatest innovation is the ability to transform a flight device into wings on your back, reaching the peak speed of current flight devices. This is the first-generation version, not for sale, and only available for pre-order by our internal core VIP customers. In the future, if you require, you can upgrade to second-generation or even later versions, though that will incur additional upgrade fees. This current generation is gifted to you free of charge. Thank you, Your Excellency, for helping Huayao resolve its crisis. We sincerely wish you a brilliant official career upon your appointment as Governor-General."
Toilet couldn't help but sigh: "Capitalism still provides the best meals, huh? This set would sell for 20 billion, and you still might not be able to buy it. As far as I know, Huayao Bank's senior VIP status can be achieved just by spending a certain amount of money, but for core VIP, they require an assessment of status and ability. It's not just because you saved their people and resolved their credibility crisis."
A'Diao naturally understood and smiled. "A person's price depends on their value."
Then she integrated the Phantom Armor into her body, released her original armor, and processed and sold all the miscellaneous spoils she had obtained earlier. It was estimated that her account balance would eventually reach 100 billion.
Toilet: "You still have a 3 billion loan."
Annoying, would it kill you not to remind me?
A'Diao silently increased the originally estimated prices for her best equipment, managing to scrape together an extra 3 billion.
The Lushan Academy exam was approaching. Those geniuses were all working hard, fighting in lairs to strengthen themselves. What was wrong with spending a little more money to arm themselves?!
She was doing it for their own good.
Toilet: "..."
An unparalleled weirdo, an expert at fleecing money.
Then A'Diao consolidated the resources she had. She kept the 12,000 Skeletal Remains but converted all 15,000 Level 5 Spirit Cores into energy points, just enough for 300 million, upgrading Toilet to Level 13. Then, she converted a total of 6,000 Level 6 Spirit Cores (100,000 energy points each) into 600 million energy points. It was too difficult; the higher the level, the harder it was to upgrade.
So even after this wave of income, A'Diao could only raise Toilet to Level 13, still a long way from Level 14. However, this was also because the benefits from this wave of income weren't focused on Spirit Cores. If she hadn't fainted due to her mental body's expansion later and had participated in the final battle, she might have been able to gather 2 billion energy points. After all, the group killing skill of "Appoint Soldiers Summon Generals" was no joke.
But the improvement of the mental body was the true kingly way. Speaking of which, she had made a huge profit. Then A'Diao maxed out the 404 Array and other skills, and her Mental Power consumption reached 1.2 billion (due to the reputation gained from the Southern Sea Region battle, her Mental Power was continuously increasing).
Level: 13 (Current energy: 600 million / 2 billion energy points, needs another 200 million energy points to reach Level 14. Note: Level 13 provides 30,000 cubic meters of storage space. Level 13 can automatically absorb ambient spiritual energy to upgrade all exchanged skills by +20 levels.)
Mental Power: 1.2 billion.
Synchronized Spiritual Energy Release: 90,000 strands.
Exchanged Skills:
"Appoint Soldiers Summon Generals" and all other skills, including 101, 202, 303... all maxed out at a final Lv. 30.
Exchangeable Skills:
1: Fused Spirit Plant Self-Created Attack Mode (Exchange requires 100 million, each level up requires 100 million Mental Power.)
2: Mental Power Will Cultivation Method Volume 5 (No exchange needed, can be directly imparted by Toilet through enlightenment.)
3: "Space Notes Volume 2" (Space-type secret art, exchangeable for 1 billion Mental Power.)
A'Diao bought all three: 1, 2, and 3. Then, she consolidated her resources and set her cultivation plan for the next month.
1. Utilize the two large spirit gates + ancient spirit gathering array + Toilet for cultivation, break through to the Glimmer Rank, and continue to temper her body with Ding, Bing, Yi + Bone-Setting Medicinal Soup.
2. Consume 12,000 Skeletal Remains, separate 10,000 Mental Threads, expand meridians to 1,000, complete the final out-of-body attack phase of Spirit Attachment, and successfully achieve Spirit Attachment.
3. Utilize the Han Clan's Bloodfire Secret Manual and "Core Essence Fluid," study the two corpses + the Level 13 Snow Demon King's inherited bloodline pupil transformation, to enhance her own bloodline power.
4. Cultivate the ancient Dao Tablet, create a doppelganger, and have the doppelganger take 20 Level 7 energy talismans to conquer three large spirit gates, gathering a total of five.
5. One dose of B-grade formula ingredients costs about 300 million. Prepare 50 billion for this, and use the other 50 billion to purchase treasures of the three elements: lightning, space, and dark cloud.
After A'Diao finalized her plan, her resources naturally began to be consumed. However, she needed to select treasures of the lightning, space, and dark cloud elements. This was not easy. Firstly, dark cloud element treasures were almost non-existent; even Huayao Bank had no stock internally. Space element treasures were available, but their cost-effectiveness was low, with purely inflated prices. Fortunately, there were many lightning element treasures. A'Diao browsed through them and her eyes landed on a Spirit Plant Body.
A-grade Spirit Plant Body: Tri-Origin Lightning Drop.
Toilet: "Impossible, right? An A-grade Spirit Plant Body couldn't be sold this cheaply, especially an offensive one. You might not even get it for 80 billion."
A-grade items were priceless and rarely available on the market. Moreover, high-grade Spirit Plant Bodies were naturally formed, closer to the essence of the spiritual Dao than Forbidden Items, a level higher.
50 billion was a clearance price.
Why would a good item need to be sold at a clearance price?
After careful inspection, A'Diao and Toilet understood why.
"The requirements for the mental body and lightning element Spiritual Core are so high, no wonder no one buys it."
A'Diao and Toilet did a quick calculation and found that this item required a mental body aptitude of at least 300 points, and also a very strong lightning element Spiritual Core aptitude. This infinitely narrowed down the range of users. Those with such high mental body aptitude would have gone into cultivating mental-type abilities and might not necessarily cultivate lightning. Anyone who satisfied both conditions would basically be among the top prodigies in the Three Kingdoms region. Who among them would lack an A-grade Spirit Plant Body? Look at Young Master Dongguo, didn't he have an ancient spirit gathering array? It was expected that Han Zhuo also had an A-grade Spirit Plant Body, after all, the Han Clan's founder was extraordinarily powerful, their ancestors stronger than Dongguo's.
"Thinking about it this way, at their current cultivation level, they can barely handle one A-grade Spirit Plant Body. They couldn't manage another, so why would they buy more? Looking at this Tri-Origin Lightning Drop, its high requirements don't even mean it's more powerful; its power is similar to other A-grade ones. It's purely a case of someone overreaching, whimsically trying to use three grams of lightning drops to store lightning essence, only to find they'd messed up. It could store more, but the mental body couldn't control it... No wonder it's disliked. Those who can afford 50 billion might not be unwilling to spend 80 billion to buy a more standard A-grade Spirit Plant Body."
A'Diao clicked on it, looked for a moment, and bought it directly.
Can't handle a second A-grade Spirit Plant Body? Mental body can't control it? That definitely doesn't apply to me.
Time flowed like water. Twenty days later, the students of Jinling Academy finally gathered.
However, it wasn't because classes were starting today, but because they were preparing to leave for Kyoto to participate in the Lushan preliminary selection.
The Five Prefectures were now united, fearing being bullied by others, so they had arranged to depart together. Qingzhou Academy's large cloud boat would pick them up, prefecture by prefecture. This morning, it was Danzhou's turn.
The students were waiting in Danzhou.
When the cloud boat descended, the teachers from Qingzhou Academy were now exceptionally polite to the teachers from Danzhou, all for Qu Jiangnan's sake.
However, upon asking, they learned that Qu Jiangnan was not coming along. She had left Danzhou a few days ago on some business, and no one knew where she had gone.
The Principal was present. He took a headcount and found some people missing. "Where are they? Where did those few local ruffians go?"
At this moment, Song Erhu and others were on the deck, looking at Danzhou Academy and its students, once again concluding that Danzhou was definitely the weakest of the Five Prefectures. Even Hanzhou Academy's students were stronger than theirs.
However, as they were watching, they noticed that the Principal had a very undignified image, yelling at someone in a corner of the road.
"What time is it already? You lot are still here eating breakfast! Would it kill you to get up earlier?"
That corner of the road had routinely become the fixed eating spot for a certain small group.
Breakfast, they squatted.
Lunch, they squatted.
Dinner, they still squatted.
Han Zhuo and the others looked over and saw several people squatting by the roadside eating, completely without regard for their image.
These were the students of Danzhou Academy?
Tuoba and the others felt greatly wronged. They weren't like that at all; it was just those few blockheads who had been like this for a decade.
After the cloud boat arrived, Tian Zhongxiang and a few others had actually already packed their things. Only one was dawdling, still stuffing fried buns into her mouth.
But a girl leaning against a nearby tree walked over and proactively took the bag of fried buns for her. "Eat them when we get on board."
She casually handed Tian Zhongye a napkin, her movements very natural, clearly accustomed to it.
The others were also very used to it.
Cheng Zhang even handed Rao Xueya milk tea, saying it was for rinsing her mouth...
"This ship is impressive, it arrived an hour earlier than I expected." A'Diao looked up at the flying boat, sighing with emotion, while regretting that after spending all her money, she hadn't remembered to save a few billion to buy a better flying ship.
Song Ling knew what A'Diao was thinking. "20 billion, but you can't buy it. It's exclusively sold by the government."
Oh, well that's a downer. Forget it, I don't have money anyway.
A'Diao thought about her empty pockets, and the salary for the Qingzhou Governor-General hadn't been paid yet. Sigh, life is hard.
Although the people on the ship considered Danzhou Academy the weakest, they were also cautious, carefully observing the Danzhou Academy students. They found that Tuoba still seemed to be the leader, but the most conspicuous one was Song Ling.
Song Ling, as a person, had seemed different from the start. When they saw her in the Southern Sea Region, she still had a bit of a young girl's cool aloofness. But in just over twenty days, her appearance had blossomed further, and she now possessed a maidenly charm. Her temperament, however, had undergone the most significant change.
Clear and cold, beautiful as the moon; the moon's radiance, a frosty, splendid sky.
Previously, she disliked being observed and restrained her brilliance. But as time passed, perhaps due to confidence or a newfound sharpness, this brilliance was no longer suppressed, adding a touch of noble elegance to her.
"Who is that person next to her?"
"The one who looks a bit delicate and pretty."
"No idea, haven't heard of her. Ask Yuan Shu and the others."
"Oh, seems like she's the second-ranked in their school, used to be ahead of Song Ling. But it looks like she offended someone, was assassinated once, injured her foundation, and has been recuperating ever since. Missed the events in the Southern Sea Region. She looks a bit weak now."
She did look weak, pale and listless, with dark circles under her eyes. The way she ate her fried bun strongly resembled a wage slave who had been hauling bricks for three months and still hadn't gotten paid.
"I heard she's also Qu Jiangnan's student, personally taught."
"Ah, so her coming to Danzhou was just a pretense? So she just casually found someone to make do?"
"Probably."
A'Diao observed the changes in these people's expressions, thinking they were still marveling at Song Ling's transformation, and rolled her eyes inwardly: Being personally tutored by a dignified Princess for so long, even a sow could ascend to heaven, let alone the already talented Song Ling. Besides, a mental mutant's transformation is from the inside out. If she weren't still holding back, these people would have been scared to death long ago.
That's right, the current Song Ling was still in a restrained state, but everyone else soon adopted a restrained state as well.
Only after A'Diao came aboard did she feel conflicted—such a large cloud boat, yet the space allocated for students was so small?
About a hundred people from five schools were all squeezed together.
Jiang Zhou, however, took the initiative to explain on behalf of the Qingzhou Principal, "Little ones, this flying ship isn't small, but there are many guards and goods. Just squeeze in a bit, it'll foster good relations. If it really doesn't work out, we'll have your Qingzhou Academy Principal buy a larger flying boat later."
The Qingzhou Principal's face turned green.
Tens of billions.
Damn Jiang Zhou.
Actually, it wasn't that the principals were doing it on purpose, nor was it to make them develop camaraderie. For the Lushan assessment, if you could make it, you made it; if not, you were out. What use was camaraderie?
It was simply because the back of the cloud boat was loaded with many Qingzhou specialty products.
A'Diao and the others didn't know what specific specialties they were, only that they were items that couldn't be put into storage equipment.
A'Diao used her Mental Threads to climb in and take a look. She then had a good idea of what it was and couldn't be bothered to ask further, settling down in a corner to rest.
It was said to be crowded, but actually, it was because everyone either had their own flying ships or the ones they usually rode were too large. Now, with over a hundred people suddenly in one large hall, they weren't used to it. In reality, it didn't affect their daily lives at all.
Probably because they had fought together in the Southern Sea Region, most of them had developed some camaraderie, and quite a few could converse with Tuoba and his group.
They felt Danzhou's aptitude was weak, but in their hearts, they also affirmed that Danzhou's combat strength and intelligence were not weak. It was a contradictory sentiment.
In comparison, the few individuals who hadn't gone to the Southern Sea Region were left out, as they weren't familiar with the others.
Anyway, A'Diao took out her breakfast and continued eating, while asking Song Ling why she had suddenly returned.
Logically, she could have departed for Kyoto from the Xie Clan's side, or been escorted to Kyoto by the Xie Clan. Suddenly returning to Danzhou a few days early seemed somewhat disadvantageous no matter how one looked at it.
"I wanted to go with you all, that's all." Song Ling propped her chin on her hand and flipped through a book.
Yuan Shu, who had been chatting with others nearby for a long time without A'Diao paying him any attention, finally couldn't stand it anymore. He suddenly came over and said with a humph, "Do you know what we witnessed in the Southern Sea Region?"
A'Diao saw him willingly walk into her trap, knew what he was up to, and asked while holding a fried bun with her chopsticks, "What?"
"The peerless hero, Zhao Ritian!!!"
Song Ling, who was beside them, paused her finger as she was turning a page, glanced at Yuan Shu with a hint of pity in her eyes, but he didn't understand and was still in a state of excitement.
A'Diao: "Who?"
Yuan Shu said with a slight sneer, "Someone you've never seen. Right, you've always stayed in school, missed out on a lot, you don't even know how big the outside world is."
At the mention of Zhao Ritian, Han Zhuo and the others looked over. They saw the plain, rustic-looking, yet delicate girl eating her fried bun with curiosity.
"Wow, this person is that amazing?"
"Of course! He comes from a noble background, is incredibly strong, possesses unparalleled intelligence, and is kind and upright. To help others, he spent one or two billion without even blinking."
A'Diao: "Woooow~~~"
Yuan Shu: "Now you know how amazing he is?"
A'Diao: "Then do you have his WeChat?"
How could they? They weren't even qualified to approach him. Even people like Song Erhu were only able to thank him and couldn't get his WeChat.
Yuan Shu was embarrassed and stammered, "There were too many people at the time, I didn't manage to get it. Why do you want his WeChat?"
Song Ling, beside them, had a premonition that A'Diao was about to go big. So she closed her book and watched with leisurely interest.
A'Diao's cheeks were moving as she chewed, and she said, "I originally thought you and Big Brother Tuoba were the most outstanding men I'd ever seen. I didn't expect there to be such a rich and powerful, peerless stud. It shows my horizons are still too narrow. I should add him on WeChat to see if this big brother is looking for a partner."
This answer was truly unexpected. Li Zhaowu's lips twitched, and she chuckled softly. This little sister is very confident, huh? Something even I couldn't do, a plain little girl like you thinks she can?
Yuan Shu's expression froze, and he looked quite unwell, his face flushing red. "Dream on! He already likes someone, and it's his sister-in-law, or maybe..."
He was about to look at Han Zhuo, but when he suddenly saw Han Zhuo grip the hilt of his sword, he immediately retracted his gaze and muttered, "Anyway, the person he likes is devastatingly beautiful. He wouldn't like you."
The principals sitting at the front were still chatting. Jiang Zhou was still boasting about how his school's students were all intelligent, with refined minds and noble character, when he heard one of his prized students say such a thing.
"Not really. If this Big Stud Zhao likes his sister-in-law but can't have her, his heart must be empty. Wouldn't he need a substitute? Someone like me is perfect: young, easy to control, inexperienced, simple, and kind. I'd surely accept that he has someone else in his heart. Maybe I'd even feel sorry for him for losing his beloved and be better able to soothe his tormented soul. And when he takes me out, people will see, 'Eh, such a plain little wife, definitely not true love. It seems he's still deeply devoted to his sister-in-law!'... See? He gets a wife, his beloved white moonlight is still there, and he gets the reputation of a peerless, good man. Calculated this way, it's a huge profit with little investment. Why wouldn't he marry me?"
Yuan Shu: "???"
No way, can it be calculated like that?!!!
Zhao Guang, sitting opposite, looked a bit embarrassed and couldn't help but say, "Big Brother Zhao isn't like that. And, this young lady... Miss Chen, this wouldn't be fair to you either."
A'Diao: "Not really. Isn't he from a prominent Kyoto family, the Zhao Clan? Holy crap, is it that legendary Zhao Clan? Then if I marry in, I'll be a Zhao family daughter-in-law! Big Brother Zhao's noble and peerless sister-in-law would also be my sister-in-law, and his powerful, peerless older brother would also be my older brother. It means what he possesses, I would also possess. Comparatively, what he possesses is definitely greater than himself. So if I can't get him, but indirectly get his family, I'd still make a huge profit! And calculating further, even if I don't get any of them, with the status of a Zhao family daughter-in-law, when I see you all, wouldn't you all have to bow to me? Including the principals, you'd all have to bow to me."
She hadn't even finished her bun, but her villa was already built (in her mind).
During the conversation, everyone seemed to already envision themselves bowing to her, and the principals lining up to bow to her.
Holy crap!
From Qingzhou Principal +666666!
From Linzhou Principal +555555!
From...
From Song Erhu +333333!
From Han Zhuo...
From Tuoba...
From Yuan Shu +222222!
Jiang Zhou was embarrassed, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and stubbornly continued, "See? Isn't she smart? Never suffers a loss, always aims for huge profits. Compared to her, your students are incredibly weak..."
Just as he finished speaking, they heard A'Diao outside say shyly, "I was just kidding. You're all so shocked. Some say that inner turmoil stems from the soul's fantasies. It seems you were genuinely considering its feasibility. That indirectly proves you didn't manage to win him over during your long time in the Southern Sea Region, right? It's okay."
Why was it okay?
"Teacher Qu mentioned this Big Brother Zhao to me, oh, and even shared his WeChat with me, asking him to teach me some curse-type techniques in the future. She even brought that Princess sister-in-law to meet me. Doesn't this count as having an advantage due to proximity? Do you need my help with an introduction... Oh dear, why do you all look so pale?"
A'Diao bragged without even drafting her lies. Anyway, these people couldn't prove anything and could only envy, get jealous, and pour their hearts out generating Mental Power for her.
The five principals: "..."
The students of the five academies: "!!!"
Holy crap, how can her mouth be so venomous!
The other four prefectures: A plain little venomous tongue?
Danzhou students: Allow us to formally introduce our local Danzhou specialty—the Troublemaker Sprite!
Facts proved that in a cramped space, squeezing together might not produce camaraderie, but rather resentful emotions.
Song Ling realized that previously, the camaraderie among Danzhou students relied on A'Diao.
Now, the camaraderie among the students of the Five Prefectures might also have to rely on A'Diao.
She lowered her head, touched her forehead, and sighed softly. But then she suddenly heard a notice being broadcast on the screen at the front.
The originally noisy space instantly fell silent.
This notice was nationwide.
The entire nation was in mourning.
A'Diao's first reaction was: had the old emperor passed away? But upon closer inspection, she realized it was the Empress of the Central Palace who had just died.
None of the people present had family backgrounds that directly reached the level of the Empress, so there were no direct vested interests. They also didn't have much impression of this old Empress who had lived in seclusion for many years. However, their first reaction was still related to their own interests—the Empress had died, would the Lushan Academy assessment be suspended?
A'Diao and Song Ling exchanged a glance.
Suspension was unlikely, but there would definitely be some impact.
With the death of the Empress of the Central Palace, the Crown Prince, who was already not favored by the Emperor, would find his position unstable. The various princes were eyeing the throne like tigers, so the Imperial Court and various powerful nobles would naturally be in turmoil.
The Empress's impending death was likely foreseeable for some time, which is why the Third Prince had been so arrogant, directly colluding with the Qu family to coerce Qu Jiangnan.
If it was like this before, then the movements of the various princes would likely become even greater, and the web of interests involved would become even wider.
They were all involved in it.
A'Diao suddenly remembered Qu Jiangnan hastily leaving a few days ago after receiving a secret letter. Was it related to this matter?
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