Chapter 93 Graduation and Revitalization of the Cultivation World: 93% complete.
Countless streaks of light floated above the island, illuminating the heavens as bright as day.
Jun Huilian sat upright on the Cloud Platform of the Ninth Heaven, casually grabbing a bag of newly launched snacks from the Hundred Brews and Thousand Flavors Pavilion from the table.
"What's this? I want one too." A fluffy head tilted to the side, and the Pixiu, which had just woken up, sniffed and lazily leaned against her shoulder.
After feeding Jun Feibai, Jun Huilian asked, "Who did you bet on this year?"
Jun Feibai casually raised his eyes: "A rather glaring guy. What about you?"
You returned to the alchemy workshop but only smiled and remained silent.
Jun Feibai sat up and followed her gaze to the water mirror, which landed on a talisman cultivator who was hiding and dodging in the arena.
The talisman cultivator was not conspicuous; she was agile and darted through the flashing swords. However, upon closer inspection, he discovered that although she appeared disheveled, she always managed to dodge safely.
Wu Ning was almost caught in the crossfire of the two sword cultivators who were sparring. She narrowly dodged a nascent sword intent and patted her chest in relief.
Even though it was only just grasped and could not yet be compared to true sword intent, it still left an indelible mark on the bluestone ground.
She turned to stare at the marks on the ground, patted her chest to catch her breath, but a sly glint flashed in her eyes.
"Wu Ning, you really came." A swordsman in green robes locked onto her and charged at her with his sword.
He was one of the people who were hunting down Wu Ning. Because he failed to complete the mission, he was reprimanded by the elders when he returned. With old and new grudges combined, he immediately attacked Wu Ning.
Wu Ning hurriedly retreated, her startled appearance causing her opponent to lower their guard and not immediately unleash a killing move.
However, the moment he approached, Wu Ning's panicked expression suddenly changed, and a meaningful smile appeared on her lips.
Suddenly, intricate array patterns appeared beneath the feet of the green-robed swordsman, and the flowing red light firmly bound him to the spot.
"You're despicable!" the sword cultivator cursed and struggled, but he couldn't move.
"All's fair in war," Wu Ning replied with a nonchalant look, lightly brushing a stray strand of hair from her temple with her fingertips.
She looked up at the sky, then moved to the other arenas where the battles were raging, feeling that it was about time.
Her habit as a rogue cultivator made her subconsciously pretend to be weak while actually being strong, but she had no intention of hiding her true abilities any longer.
This is just the first stage of the assessment; everyone else is holding back.
She knew very well that she couldn't compete with the orthodox cultivators who were built up by the resources of those sects in terms of strength. What she wanted was to seize the opportunity to soar to the top, to overshadow all the geniuses of the sects, and to make all the great powers in the Nine Heavens take notice of her, even just a glance.
Once she is "seen," she will have achieved her goal.
Wu Ning's expression hardened. She bit her fingertip and drew a talisman in the air. The blood bead condensed into a spell. At the same time, the "seed" she had secretly planted while hiding and moving around began to sprout.
On the arena, those with keen senses noticed something was wrong and quickly scattered to the edge of the arena. Those who remained in the center of the arena were a step too late and were thrown backward by the explosive blast.
In the center of the arena, a crimson array diagram, seemingly drawn with blood, appeared from the ground. Due to the insufficient cultivation of the person who drew the array, only the central spiritual energy was condensed and exploded, but it still managed to eliminate most of the opponents.
The loud noise attracted the attention of many people, and the eyes of the remaining examinees on the stage were all focused on one person.
Wu Ning looked back at them openly, and only then did everyone remember this talisman cultivator who didn't seem to have strong offensive capabilities and didn't have a single decent spiritual weapon on him.
"When did you tamper with it?" The plain-clad Yinxiu, holding the pipa, was not angry. Instead, she looked at her with some appreciation, her fingertips carefully resting on the strings.
Wu Ning smiled shyly and said, "We started practicing as soon as we got on stage."
“I underestimated Fu Xiu,” Su Yiyin Xiu sighed softly.
People are used to underestimating the combat power of talisman and medicine practitioners, but they never expected to be caught off guard this time.
She began to reflect, but quickly regained her fighting spirit: "I'll give you a try."
Before she finished speaking, she rhythmically plucked the strings of her zither, the sound waves condensing into spiritual energy. However, her attack speed did not match the zither music, catching the opponent off guard.
Wu Ning tore off the talisman that concealed her cultivation level, revealing her Golden Core stage prowess. As she turned to dodge, she drew a longsword from her storage ring. Her lips moved slightly as she silently recited a sword incantation. In an instant, the sword in her hand split into a hundred phantoms, indiscriminately attacking everyone remaining on the platform.
The sword shadows were like rain, dense and impenetrable. Those with weaker strength could not hold on and had to leave the stage. Some people, after careful consideration, decided to conserve their strength for the next test. In the end, apart from Wu Ning, only Su Yi Yin Xiu and another person remained on the stage.
A resounding "Amitabha" echoed like a great bell, and a Buddhist monk with an expressionless face ignored the sword shadows and slowly walked forward.
Upon closer inspection, each step he took left a golden lotus mark on the ground, which would soon dissipate in the wind. It was these golden marks that had withstood all attacks.
The scent of sandalwood spread, and those who smelled it couldn't help but feel calm.
Wu Ning was momentarily dazed, then suddenly snapped back to reality. When she came to her senses, a string of Bodhi seeds was only an arm's length away from her.
She abruptly stepped back to create distance, channeling her spiritual energy to scatter the beads, and laughed in exasperation: "I didn't realize that little bald monk was so cunning, with such a strong desire to kill."
Su Yiyin was momentarily stunned and caught off guard. He was filled with resentment but had no choice but to conserve his strength. After all, he had already secured a top-three finish in the sub-arena, so it wasn't a loss.
She declared loudly, "We'll compete again next time. My name is Lou Shiyue, remember that." Then she flicked her sleeves and stepped off the stage.
Only two people remained on the stage, each occupying a corner. The atmosphere gradually became tense, but neither of them made the first move.
The Buddhist monk wore a warm smile, but his words were completely different from the radiant Buddhist aura he exuded: "Would you like this humble monk to escort you down?"
“You can give it a try.” Wu Ning chuckled and took out a small piece of the painted skin without hesitation.
You have to give up something to gain something. Since she has decided to win first place in the first round of assessments, she will do her best.
Beyond the water mirror, Jun Feibai rested his chin on his hand, blinked, and said, "What a coincidence, the people we bet on are on the same arena. I thought we'd have to go through several rounds before we matched up."
"This is definitely my future disciple." Langdu looked at Wu Ning, who was fighting against the Buddhist cultivator, and was extremely satisfied.
"That's hard to say, they might choose the sword-cultivation class." Shu Zhu scoffed. Good talents were not meant for her, but she didn't mind dampening Lang Du's good mood.
Langdu instinctively wanted to refute, but then he suddenly remembered Helian Yi, who had recently been recruiting a large number of talents, and realized that it was really hard to say.
Helian Yi not only poured money and resources into the graduates, but also set his sights on the new students, extending an olive branch to everyone he met, determined to make the Helian family even more prosperous. As a result, the sword cultivator class was the most discussed among the trial participants.
He was thinking he had to come up with a solution; he didn't want to be shorter and sparser every year.
In the previous year, Su Xiaoyao stood out from the crowd. During the graduation season, she single-handedly won the championship with a score of 444, crushing the second-place Jiang Yun, even though the latter had the advantage of having the assistant's credits.
We haven't seen such a prodigious student in this year's class yet, but he has potential!
“Everything’s on track now,” Jun Feibai said abruptly, reaching out to grasp Jun Huilian’s hand. “We should go have some alone time.”
Whether it's Tianyan Academy, System Academy, or this cultivation world, everything has been corrected, and Heaven has gladly repaid the promised merits.
In other words, Jun Huilian can retire at any time and ascend to the upper realm.
Jun Feibai couldn't wait any longer.
"No rush, there are still things to finish."
Jun Huilian raised an eyebrow and looked at the image reflected in the other water mirror.
"My darling! I can't bear to part with you!" Su Xiaoyao wailed.
[Waaaaah, Xiao Yao, I can't bear to part with you either!]
996 cried even more bitterly than she did.
However, there was no way around it. With the graduation of this year's students, all the system tasks were completed, and they received a notification that they would be unbound to carry out the next wave of tasks to continue maintaining the operation of the cultivation world or other worlds.
The two, one human and one ball of light, embraced and wept bitterly. Even the bronze cauldron beside them couldn't bear to watch and was somewhat saddened by their plight.
Will we ever meet again, my darling?
Yes, yes! I heard there's a vacation after each mission, I'll come see you during my vacation!
"Then why are you in such a hurry to leave this time, without giving you any leave?"
[This is because it's our beginner phase mission, like a graduation internship. After it ends, we'll have to give a performance review. After that, different missions will be assigned based on the system's characteristics. Since I did well, I'll most likely be sent to a more distant and dangerous world to do missions.]
Su Xiaoyao paused in her sobs: "Will you have more hosts in the future, and will you say the same things to everyone? Won't you have to work shifts during your holidays? Will I even be able to get a spot?"
996 got anxious when they heard that.
No, we'll grow together and support each other. You'll always be the most important person in my heart! No! The only important person!
Su Xiaoyao felt a little better after that; she had never realized she was so possessive.
Unfortunately, no matter how reluctant she was, she couldn't stop the system's future.
“Honey, then I wish you…” she thought for a moment and said, “May you always be able to beat 444.”
I still haven't been able to overcome the 996 work culture.
After being unbound, 444 transformed into a ball of light, gazing blankly into the distance.
“My problem.” Jiang Yun lowered his eyes and patted the dejected 444 with his palm.
The warm touch in his palm warmed his heart.
No, it's not your fault. I should have foreseen it. How could 996 be willing to take a back seat? And its host is so cunning. I should have taken precautions. I was careless.
444 muttered to himself.
Su Xiaoyao and 996 were initially ranked outside the top five, but she took on a top-level mission on her own, submitted the mission report at the last minute, and successfully overtook them in the rankings.
Jiang Yun calmly said, "It's no use. Even if we knew her plans in advance, she would find other ways to earn credits or trick others into losing credits."
He understood Su Xiaoyao; she was the kind of person who would gamble even with a one percent chance of success, and she was confident that she had the ability to bear the consequences. Others would cherish their reputation when given a choice, and wouldn't risk their lives like she did.
On the last day of the semester, Su Xiaoyao appeared in the mission hall covered in blood. When he showed off his mission report, even Helian Yi, who was competing with him, was ashamed of himself.
"I hope that in the next mission, you'll meet someone even more capable than me," he said softly, his expression gentle.
444 suddenly stopped complaining. It smacked its little round mouth a few times, then suddenly flew up and slapped him on the back of the head.
[How dare you talk like that! Are you questioning my judgment?! Let me tell you, I bound myself to you because you're the best! Its 996 work schedule is nothing compared to this; do you think I need to bind myself to a host to beat it? You're kidding! Let's settle this in a one-on-one fight offline!]
444 kept talking, and Jiang Yun just listened quietly. He knew that every word 444 said was out of reluctance to part with him. Similarly, he couldn't let go of 444, who had been with him for so long and had changed his destiny.
By the way, do you still need to exchange for the truth about what happened to your family?
Jiang Yun paused for a moment, his gaze sharpening instantly: "No need."
Body Tempering Pills, demonic energy, the declining cultivation world, the schemes of the Nine Sects... the scope is too broad, and too many people are involved. He had figured out what he should do several years ago.
He had no intention of letting go of any of the sects, including the Holy Prayer Palace, the Profound Heaven Sword Sect, and others.
Reach out your hand; I have a parting gift for you.
444 then changed the subject.
[System request to submit items, accept or reject?]
Please make a decision within one second.
【1】
No response within one second, acceptance is assumed.
Jiang Yun chuckled. 444 remained as self-willed as ever. He opened his hand, and a gentle white light enveloped his palm. He felt his palm burning. The Soul-Summoning Banner appeared without his consent, along with the Soul-Crossing Banner he had earned by working for the academy for five years.
He seemed to sense something, and an incredulous look of astonishment flashed across his eyes.
444 coughed lightly twice in a proper manner, and then demurely put her hands on her round waist.
[Hmph, you're lucky, kid. A Buddhist cultivator pulled out the Soul-Binding Banner from the roulette wheel. His system is on good terms with me, and Buddhist cultivators can't use that thing anyway. I've accumulated some points over the years, so I made a deal with them.]
The third small banner appeared in Jiang Yun's trembling palm.
[Considering your hard work over the years, I'm giving this to you to help your family...]
Before he could finish speaking, the little ball of light was pulled into a strong embrace. He was stunned for a moment, then forcibly pulled out the little round hand and lightly punched him.
Jiang Yun was used to keeping her eyes down in crowds, immersed in her own world, but at this moment something broke through the thin layer of ice that separated her from the world.
"Thank you, 444."
Why are you getting so worked up? Don't be so sentimental. I'm telling you, I don't buy that. This is just a compliment.
444 hummed softly, still with that proud look on her face.
[I told you before, the system and the host are one, I am your support. I'll come see you during the holidays, but don't let me find you in such a sorry state as when we first met.]
"No, never again."
...
"No, never again."
After investing all his points into the prize pool and only drawing a bunch of junk, Xiao Tingyuan muttered to himself in a daze.
"I will never gamble again."
Honey, I already suggested you redeem your remaining points for items currently available in the store, that way you wouldn't waste them all!
Xiao Tingyuan detected a mocking tone in 1314's steady voice.
He said helplessly, "Don't be like this. We're about to break up. Don't you have anything you want to say to me?"
He received no answer, and after a moment a mechanical voice came to his ear:
[Trigger hidden quest: Slap the face of those who abandoned you!]
Task: Please read aloud: Today you ignore me, tomorrow you won't be able to reach me!
Task Reward: None
Failure penalty: None
Xiao Tingyuan: "..."
Xiao Tingyuan took a deep breath: "Today, I really can't say it out loud."
He was discouraged. He didn't understand why he used to like shouting those embarrassing slogans, but after meeting 1314, he gave up his catchphrase.
【whee】
Xiao Tingyuan: "..."
Xiao Tingyuan: "You laughed, didn't you? I heard you laugh."
【No, dear. I'm a properly trained system, and I generally don't laugh unless I can't help it, hehehe】
Xiao Tingyuan was now certain that he wasn't hallucinating.
His expression was complicated, a mixture of conflict and nostalgia. Finally, he took out a pink bow tie and tied it around the head of the ball of light.
【？】
1314 stretched out her small round hand and poked the bow.
"Xiao Yao said that children all like this." He straightened the bow tie, his smile full of kindness.
1314 clicked his tongue and then touched Xiao Tingyuan's forehead after a while.
The path to immortality is long; embark on your legendary journey!
Even a gentle Long Aotian is still a Long Aotian.
The unbound systems returned to the System Academy in low spirits to report on their work, and even the most competitive ones were too exhausted to argue.
Just as the group was confused and thought they were about to start the next mission, they all received a message at the same time.
[New player period over! Congratulations on successfully completing the mission. Now please enjoy your holiday!]
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