After Yun Tianming killed the Sixth Rank Magic Beast, the group encountered no further mishaps and arrived smoothly at the coordinates designated by the Academy.
"The Inner Court, is it here?"
Everyone looked puzzled. Ahead of them was a deep canyon, surrounded by endless greenery. Not only could they not see the Inner Court, they couldn't even spot a building.
"Spatial Strength."
Yun Tianming narrowed his eyes. With his powerful Soul Perception, he sensed abnormal energy flows around, as if twisted by some mysterious force.
"Heh heh~"
"The Inner Court of Jia Nan Academy is not a place just anyone can enter."
The three elders guided their Griffon Beasts to land in a clearing, then took out a jade slip. An energy imprint shot out from it, forming a distorted spatial gateway ahead.
"This is a spatial blockade set up personally by Grand Elder Su Qian. Without the corresponding energy imprint, outsiders cannot enter here."
Passing through the spatial gateway, they beheld a grand and spectacular large-scale academy that from afar rivaled a super-sized city!
"Ahead is the Inner Court, but before that, you'll participate in a Fire Energy Hunting Competition."
"Another assessment? What's this Fire Energy Hunting Competition about?"
Upon hearing the elders' words, confusion and puzzlement crossed everyone's faces.
Yun Tianming understood this quite well. The so-called Fire Energy referred to the number of times one enters the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower for practice. Within the Inner Court, it served as a kind of valuable currency for trading. However, since Yun Tianming wasn't a student, he naturally wouldn't participate in any Fire Energy Hunting Competition.
Under the guidance of an elder, Yun Tianming arrived at the Alchemy Department office.
"Come in!"
A booming voice rang out from inside the room just as Yun Tianming was about to knock on the door.
Yun Tianming's hand paused for a moment. He thought to himself, "Late Mortal Realm stage Soul Power, very sensitive perception!"
Pushing open the door, he saw an elderly man with red hair and beard, deeply engrossed in alchemy in front of a cauldron. The flames he controlled turned out to be a Rank 7 Beast Flame!
Yun Tianming did not disturb him but quietly observed the alchemy process.
"Huang Zhaoxu, Qianyuan Spirit Fruit. These are ingredients for refining a Sixth Grade Pill!"
However, it's a pity.
Yun Tianming shook his head inwardly.
Sizzle~
A dull sound came from the cauldron. Just before the ingredients condensed into pills, they turned into ashes.
"Damn it! Another failure! What went wrong this time?"
"This Sixth Grade Pill is damn difficult to refine!"
As if frustrated by countless previous failures, the old man blurted out obscenities.
Seeing this, Yun Tianming couldn't help but speak up and analyze, "The Qianyuan Spirit Fruit has a robust medicinal nature that's difficult to blend with other materials. It should be repeatedly refined using a tempering method."
"Kid, what nonsense are you talking about... Huh? Maybe this technique could actually work?"
The old man first glared at him sideways, then furrowed his brow, pondering carefully. His eyes suddenly lit up as he looked at the young man before him with astonishment. "You must be the new Mentor, Yun Tianming?"
"Indeed, I am. I have met Elder Huo."
From other elders, Yun Tianming learned that Elder Huo was the head of the Alchemy Department, a Fifth Grade pinnacle Alchemist.
"Yun Tianming! Can you refine a Sixth Grade Pill?"
Elder Huo's eyes brightened, his face filled with expectations as he looked at him.
"I apologize, I am just a Fifth Grade Alchemist."
"I happened to obtain notes from a mysterious Alchemist, learning a bit of alchemy techniques."
The technique for handling Qianyuan Spirit Fruit comes from the 'Yao Chen Notes,' which also detail many methods for handling medicinal ingredients. Of course, theory is one thing, but practical application is quite challenging. With Yun Tianming's current level of alchemy, the success rate for refining a Sixth Grade Pill is no higher than twenty percent.
"Tsk tsk~ Such a young Fifth Grade Alchemist, not something you see often even in the Central Plains!"
"And your alchemy notes, they must be from a grandmaster Alchemist!"
Elder Huo looked at Yun Tianming with envy. In truth, Elder Huo's real identity was from the ancient Yan clan among the eight clans, but his bloodline was not pure enough and his talent was only average. That's why he ventured out on his own and, through a stroke of luck, became the head of the Alchemy Department at Jia Nan Academy.
"Since you possess such knowledge, I believe you are certainly capable of handling the role of Mentor."
"Here are the specific benefits and compensation. Take a look."
Elder Huo was straightforward in character and didn't beat around the bush. He immediately brought out a detailed list of benefits and compensation.
Yun Tianming took the list and briefly scanned it: two classes per week, one theoretical and one practical alchemy session, guaranteed one hundred and fifty days of Fire Energy per month, plus additional commissions based on the number of students attending classes.
"At the Inner Academy, Fire Energy can buy everything, equivalent to money outside. This is easy to understand, right?"
While speaking, Elder Huo took out a crystal card from his drawer and handed it to Yun Tianming.
"Understood."
Yun Tianming took the crystal card. With a touch of Dou Qi, the card displayed the number of Fire Energy: three hundred.
"Hehe! Consider this a personal gift from me."
"To obtain more Fire Energy, you'll need to put in the effort yourself!"
Becoming a Mentor in the Inner Academy was just a pretense.
Yun Tianming's true goal had always been one: the Fallen Heart Flame!
"Is that the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower over there?"
Even from afar, one could sense the rich fire attribute energy emanating from it. Sunken into the terrain, a colossal black tower lay buried underground, with only its spire and an underground entrance protruding above ground.
Yun Tianming first attempted to use his Soul Power to probe the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, only to encounter a tight spatial blockade that prevented him from discerning the interior environment.
"It's indeed heavily guarded. It seems the Fallen Heart Flame isn't so easy to obtain."
The strongest publicly known figure in the Inner Academy was Grand Elder Su Qian, with strength equivalent to a 2 Star Dou Ancestor.
However, Yun Tianming knew that within a hidden space in the Inner Academy, there were two formidable experts at the peak of Dou Ancestor strength!
With his current abilities, even employing Soul Techniques, he would find it difficult to contend with them. Therefore, direct confrontation was impossible; he could only wait for the right opportunity.
At this moment, gathered at the entrance of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower were numerous students. Unlike those from the Outer Academy who wore standardized uniforms, students in the Inner Academy were allowed to freely form societies and factions, each having their own unique clothing or badges. Therefore, students organized themselves into teams based on their faction's influence, with larger factions positioned at the front and smaller ones at the rear. A few unaffiliated "lone wolves" ranked last.
"Hey, Liu Qing, you're here to cultivate at the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower today?"
"Hmph, Lin Xiu Ya, you're here too."
"I heard the new students recently are quite arrogant. They completely wiped out the older students in the Fire Energy Hunting Competition."
"Han Yue, I heard you were planning to recruit that newcomer queen Xiao Xun'er into the Spirit Gang."
"I was rejected. Xiao Xun'er intends to establish her own gang."
"Is that true? A new student forming a gang, that's quite audacious!"
At the entrance, the seniors chatted about the antics of the new students, their faces filled with teasing expressions.
Just then, a unfamiliar face passed by them, brazenly cutting ahead of all the faction groups as if nothing had happened.
****
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