Although the atmosphere in the Six-tailed Society was oppressive, they were rather generous with money.
After Xia Feng handed over the Life Fruit, the finance department bought it from him for 120,000—twenty percent above the market average.
The Life Fruit not only extended life but was also a crucial ingredient in many potions, essential for the society's research department's experiments.
As for the Wisdom Fruit, with a market price of 10,000 Empire Coins each and clearly marked on various online platforms, the finance department bought all the Wisdom Fruit he had on hand at the standard price.
A total of twelve, that was another 120,000 Empire Coins.
Looking at the 241,403.30 Empire Coins in his bank account, Xia Feng felt many emotions; the adventurer profession really was a profitable one, instantly lifting him out of poverty.
If he entered the Evil Dragon Forest a few more times, wouldn't he become a millionaire?
However, after some thought, he found this unrealistic since his success in finding the Wisdom Tree and Life Tree was purely because experts from the society had already explored the forest and mapped it out.
Thus, this 240,000 was essentially a reward from the Six-tailed Society for the victor.
The Extraordinary Trees in the Evil Dragon Forest were not as abundant or as easy to find as one might imagine.
But that wasn't important anymore, now that he had so much money, it should be sufficient to purchase the materials needed to construct the "Gateway to the World".
But a troubling issue remained, fading ink and leopard fish blood were easy to buy, and he had spent 30,000 to acquire two grams of each.
However, Infinite Stone was a super dangerous forbidden item, and dealing in Infinite Stone could lead to imprisonment or even, in severe cases, a death sentence!
To prevent invasion from the Evil Realm, the entire Zone 51 was enveloped under a defensive light net called the "Infinite Realm."
The core material to construct the Infinite Realm was the Infinite Stone.
This item was incredibly rare; using even a little meant that much less was left, and it was an explicitly prohibited trading commodity by the Empire.
Whenever anyone found a deposit of Infinite Stone, that deposit would belong to the Empire.
Of course, the Empire would offer a fair reward for it.
Generally speaking, 1g of Infinite Stone equaled 100,000 in reward.
Therefore, whether mining Infinite Ore or smuggling Infinite Stone, it was undoubtedly an extremely lucrative business.
So now, the question!
Where to buy this prohibited item?
Xia Feng sat in the classroom, half-listening to the lecture while deep in thought.
"Alright, we'll stop here for today's class."
Professor Freya rang the Spirit Bell, and the students immediately scattered; Xia Feng got up to leave but was suddenly stopped:
"Mr. Xia Feng, please stay behind a moment."
"..."
The lecture hall quickly emptied, leaving him alone with Professor Freya, who wore professional attire today—a white blouse snugly tucked into a black pencil skirt paired with small black heels, exuding a smart and capable vibe.
She instantly teleported from the podium to the front of Xia Feng's desk, leaning slightly over it with her deep eyes firmly staring down at him.
"..." Her presence was imposing; Xia Feng swallowed nervously and shrank a little, thinking, please don't do this, I'm scared.
After a long silence, she earnestly asked, "Mr. Xia Feng, do you have a dream?"
"A dream? Of course, I do."
"Oh? What is it?"
"To be a lazy bum who only eats and sleeps and still makes money lying down!" Xia Feng pumped his fist, his eyes shining with aspiration.
"..."
Unexpectedly faced with such a… unique dream, Professor Freya asked, "Then, Mr. Xia Feng, do you desire power?"
"Uh?" Xia Feng looked skeptically at the woman, "Professor, what are you trying to say? Just spit it out."
Professor Freya pursed her lips, pondering, "About what we discussed last time, have you thought it over?"
"Thought it over? What?"
"...Of course, about becoming my Direct Disciple!" The woman's mature face showed a slight annoyance as she slapped the desk, "Mr. Xia Feng, it seems you've been dismissing my words?!"
She had heard about last night's event with Qi Xiao; this guy was definitely a genius, and she trusted her judgment.
"...Ahem, Professor, don't rush me, I'm still thinking… um, I've made up my mind now!"
"Hmm?" The red-haired woman's eyes brightened.
Xia Feng spoke seriously, "Ms. Fu, thank you for your kindness, but I really have no interest in swordsmanship, and I have to work several part-time jobs to earn money, so I really don't have time to follow you and learn."
The red-haired woman frowned slightly, "Part-time jobs? Are you very poor?"
No, I'm of course not poor now... Xia Feng's expression darkened, and he whispered lowly, "I am an orphan, though adopted by my foster father, but my cheap foster father won't take care of my living expenses, so, teacher, I—"
Snap—
A black-gold bank card slapped onto the table, the red-haired woman looked serious with her mature face, "One million, is that enough?"
Xia Feng: "..."
It was the first time Xia Feng had seen a teacher pay to take a disciple, he struggled to shift his gaze away from the bank card, his expression equally serious, righteous in speech:
"Ms. Fu, although I want to earn money lying down, my stomach is very good, I don't feed off others!"
Snap—
A platinum bank card slapped onto the table, Professor Freya's beautiful eyes slightly narrowed, "Two million."
"..."
Ms. Fu, are you using this to test your subordinates?
Xia Feng was really convinced, he actually wanted to accept, but once he took her as his master, the high chance of his true nature as a cultivation dummy being discovered was unavoidable.
Seeing him still silent, Professor Freya took a deep breath, snap—
The third card, rose-gold!
"Three million. This is all that your teacher has, there is no more." The red-haired woman said seriously, her eyes filled with endless hope as she looked at the young man in front of her.
All...
Savings?!
Teacher, it's very easy for people to cheat you out of everything... Xia Feng frowned and shook his head, but suddenly thought of something, he looked up hesitantly, "Ms. Fu.... do you know about the Infinite Stone?"
"Infinite Stone?"
The red-haired woman's expression immediately became solemn, her brows tightly furrowed, "That is a forbidden item, what are you asking for? Did you find one?"
Seeing Professor Freya suddenly turn fierce and authoritative, Xia Feng's heart skipped a beat, he coughed and hurriedly shook his head, "How could that be, there's no such thing, just asking out of curiosity."
He almost forgot—aside from her identity as a college professor, she was also the captain of the Holy Department's Eighth Squad, a unit specifically tasked with handling cases of smuggling extraordinary items.
Seeing Xia Feng switch topics, avoiding the matter of taking him as a disciple, Professor Freya fell silent for a moment, then softly said:
"Rather than earning money, it's more important to learn some skills in college, consider it again. If you come around, you can come find your teacher again."
With that, she shook her head and no longer lingered, turning around to leave.
"Teacher, wait!"
"Hmm?" Professor Freya abruptly turned back, her eyelashes fluttering, her eyes lighting up at the bottom, "Have you thought it through?"
Xia Feng helplessly pointed at the three cards on the table, "Your savings."
Professor Freya: "..."
After the teacher left, Xia Feng sat silently at the same spot, regretting his choice of a soft life for a good ten seconds before also standing up to leave.
However, he had barely rounded a corner when he faintly heard an erratic, discordant singing coming from the corner ahead.
"That voice... why does it sound a bit familiar?"
He puzzledly followed the sound of the singing.
But after thinking about it, he cast "Concealment" and "Bronze Mask" on himself.
Concealment to hide his form.
Bronze Mask to lower his presence, such that even a domain field with full visibility might overlook his existence.
Soon, an only semi-translucent figure passed by the garden rockery, arriving at the end of the hallway in front of a classroom.
[3601~3602 Spiritual Song Society, No Trespassing]
Through the glass beneath the door plaque, he saw a woman in a black skirt's back.
Was that... Mu Qingtong?