The spacious front courtyard.
"Sit."
Jiang Ding pointed to the bench opposite him.
Han Lin sat down nervously.
"That, is your family a medicinal herb lineage?" Jiang Ding asked.
"Yes, master. Starting from my great-grandfather, our family began working for the Qixuan School. Two generations even served as stewards, and because of that, we were also implicated..."
Han Lin spoke in a subdued tone.
Jiang Ding fell silent.
With such societal circumstances, misfortunes were all too common, and he had seen them more than once.
"Master, it's just that our family has had bad luck."
Han Lin cleared his mood and tried to sound cheerful.
"Blue Luminous Butterfly, how much do you know about it?"
"The butterfly wings are tough and cannot be torn. They glow at night and are very beautiful. The purchase price at the Prefectural City is one tael of silver for ten wings." Han Lin answered without hesitation. "I heard they are specially supplied to important figures in the capital for making clothes."
"It's just too agile, hard to find, and hard to catch."
Jiang Ding calculated for a moment based on the data from the library.
"I want five hundred thousand pairs, or even five hundred and fifty thousand pairs, and I'm willing to pay a premium or even double the price, but they must be alive. Do you think it's doable?"
Five hundred thousand pairs were the quantity required for a vial of Dao Body Embryo accelerant, which could speed up the formation of the Dao Body Embryo—that is, the formation speed of an Eaglet Innate—by several folds and ultimately add more talent to it.
The extra ten percent was the manual labor fee for refining 'Blue-Gold 2413'.
Such rare medicine could not be mass-produced; it had to be extracted by master alchemists, which would cost a lot of spirit coins to hire, and they might not be available.
Compensating with rare and high-end materials was a common preferred payment method among alchemists.
This was still in a world where the Xianmen Sect had knowledge and technology sharing, and there was an abundance of high-tech talents like alchemists and array masters, which greatly reduced labor costs.
If this were in the outer realm of the Cultivation World, hiring such figures without paying a sky-high price in spirit stones and favors, would be impossible.
Those lacking in strength might even risk their lives if they were not careful.
"It should... be doable, I think," Han Lin hesitated. "I know many uncles who catch Blue Luminous Butterflies. If the price could be increased by ten or twenty percent, they would be very willing to sell to us here."
'Should'
Jiang Ding nodded, "Go rest. At this stage, try not to practice boxing more than twenty times a day, and make sure to eat plenty of meat and vegetables. Don't skimp on these expenses."
After speaking, he closed his eyes slightly. His inner energy flowed, sometimes faint and sometimes extremely noticeable.
During the practice intervals of the "Minor Concealing Breath Technique," Jiang Ding silently recorded the challenges he encountered on his micro-computer, to ask Teacher Zhang Dingjun during class.
"Yes, master!"
Han Lin cast a respectful glance around before returning to the outside of the shop to continue practicing boxing, only this time more quietly, without the loud vocalizations.
...
Upon arriving in class, Jiang Ding rubbed his bleary eyes; Li Junhao was indeed doing problems.
He had slept only a little over three hours last night and wasn't quite used to it.
However, with the small achievement of "Eagle Taking Off Sword Technique," he estimated that he would adapt in at most a week, requiring only four hours of sleep each day.
"It's rare for you, to have stayed up late."
As a deity of staying up late to study, Li Junhao could tell Jiang Ding's condition at a glance while not stopping his pen, and exclaimed in surprise.
Ding, ding, ding!
The class bell rang, and homeroom teacher Guo Kui walked into the classroom with a large stack of test papers.
"I'm now distributing the midterm report cards and moral education papers."
"Since the principal is unexpectedly occupied, everyone's practical exam is graded with a 75 percent pass rate."
Guo Kui glanced at the students below and showed a slight smile; he seemed to be in a good mood.
"31st place, Zhou Dong, 627 points."
"Number..."
...
"19th place, Li Junhao, 815 points."
Many people looked over in surprise—the progress was too substantial, nearly one hundred percent.
"Congratulations."
Jiang Ding whispered, happy for him, the most hardworking person recognized in the class.
"Thank you."
Li Junhao's eyes shimmered with tears. He was just a few dozen points away from the admission score of local Qianling University—cultivation was in sight.
But he calmed down quickly.
"There's a lot of padding in this score. I couldn't get 75 points in the practical assessment; usually, it's the bottom 5 points."
"18th place…"
"14th place, Zhou Xiyuan, 834 points."
There was some stirring among the crowd, including many Qi Practicing Phase students; quite a few couldn't help but glance in Jiang Ding's direction.
He still hadn't appeared up to now.
It was often said that mortals could surpass cultivators in scores. Was it finally their class' turn today?
"13th place, Zhao Yuanye, 857 points."
"12th place…"
…
As each name was announced, and they still hadn't reached the tenth without mention of Jiang Ding, many started to doubt whether Guo Kui was becoming senile, with even his Seventh Level of Qi Practicing Divine Sense becoming muddled.
"9th place."
Guo Kui paused in his speech, double-checking the score sheet.
"Jiang Ding, 892 points."
He glanced at Jiang Ding and sighed, "I've also reviewed your other subjects. Unless there's a major surprise, our local Qianling University should be within reach for you."
"But don't get cocky."
Guo Kui's tone was serious, "This is just a mid-term exam organized by the school. Don't think that achieving a little means you can relax and disregard the College Entrance Exam."
"The more progress you make, the more you must strive to improve yourself."
He had a good impression of Jiang Ding. After all, in the entire Qian Province, there weren't many students who could score 141 points in the Ideology and Morality subject.
Such students represented a strong political reliability in the eyes of the Central Array Spirit Computer, and there would be many hidden advantages for them.
"I understand, Teacher," replied Jiang Ding, nodding. He collected his score sheet and exam papers from the lectern without showing much excitement.
As his aptitude improved, and with Inner Energy as a tangible reference, a comprehensive advancement in subjects like language arts, math, and geography was expected.
Guo Kui nodded, approving of his steady demeanor.
Little did he know that this shy young boy before him dared to kill enemies in other planes, and naturally would not become arrogant over some academic improvement.
"Damn! 892 points!"
"What was his score last time? Six hundred something?"
"Damn it, leaping over two hundred points all at once—is this the explosive growth during the third year of high school that teachers talk about?"
After a good while confirming, the classmates finally believed what was before their eyes and couldn't help buzzing with discussion.
"Even though cultural courses increase slightly after breaking through to the Internal Qi Realm, this kind of explosive growth is just unreasonable!"
"How much did cultural points increase when Sun Xiao broke through?"
"60 points."
Sun Xiao's face darkened. His additional points were already plenty, but they seemed insignificant by comparison.
"Quiet!"
Guo Kui banged on the desk, forcefully taking control of the classroom.
"8th place, Gongsun You, 906 points. Qianling University is within reach."
"7th place…"
…
"First place, Hua Bing, Seventh Level of Qi Practicing, 1292 points. Prospects at No.12 University are looking good!"
The scores from eighth to second place were roughly the same as usual, but when it came to Hua Bing, the difference suddenly widened by nearly a hundred points—just a hundred points shy of the perfect score of 1400!
Everyone was stunned.
"Unbelievable!"
"Seventh Level of Qi Practicing, a tiny qualitative change in Divine Sense—alas, one cannot compare with others."
"Is someone from our class going to become an Immortal Jin Dan?"
The classroom erupted. A score of nearly 1300 indicated a rhythm heading towards the Twelve Dao Palace—a Jin Dan seedling, a truly favored child of the heavens.
Guo Kui watched this scene with a chuckle, not interrupting.
Being able to teach a Jin Dan seedling was a matter of pride for him. If Hua Bing succeeded in reaching Jin Dan in the future, even after his death, perhaps several generations of his descendants could benefit from it.