--- Chapter 24 ---
I heaved a sigh and tumbled to the ground, staring at the clear sky with an exhausted look. That fight consumed too much stamina, spirit energy, and spiritual power.
"Xiao Yuan, are you okay?" Liu Erlong and Han Yue came to my side to check my condition.
"I'm fine." I smiled weakly.
"You! Seriously, why are you kid so reckless?" Liu Erlong began scolding me like no tomorrow, telling me to be careful or not to get distracted by the enemy like that.
Well, she's right.
My fighting experience is indeed lacking.
Although I tried to adapt to every situation, something similar to Angel God's image earlier could have happened again.
Even with all these scoldings, I can see a warm emotion in Liu Erlong's eyes. She really cares for my well-being, huh?
I started feeling bad for manipulating this woman, but these thoughts immediately vanished from my mind because I was doing it for my own benefit.
Clearing "madness" from Liu Erlong also made her a good person, so I helped her in a way.
Weirdly enough, Han Yue was so quiet. I peeked at her and saw her bright eyes staring at me calmly.
"Do you have something to say to me?" asked Han Yue.
"I'm sorry," I helplessly replied. "I put my safety as the highest priority next time."
"Good." Han Yue nodded in understanding.
"Now, go and recover your strength. Then, absorb the spirit ring."
Liu Erlong witnessed our conversation, and her mouth hung awkwardly because her scolding was useless before Han Yue's words. Of course, I listened to Han Yue because she's my dear sister, and you're a female tyrannosaurus with love-brain syndrome.
After consuming some recovery pills, I walked to the 8,100-year-old spirit ring and stared at the Fallen Lightning Bamboo's broken body calmly.
"That spear attack was dangerous."
"Any other person below Spirit King and that attack would crush their heart and kill."
"Unfortunately for you, Lightning Element is like a cure to me. So, while you're successfully drilling a hole in my chest, you also sent a "holy" medicine to heal it."
"Well, thank you for your spirit ring."
Thankfully, I still have one purification chance today. I used the other two on Liu Erlong earlier.
Purifying the resentment in the spirit ring, I started absorbing the 8,100-year-old spirit ring and pulled it into the Purple Silver Grass.
My cultivation techniques received the impact immediately.
A large amount of energy entered my body like a raging wave.
Insect Vibrato Breathing is "constantly" vibrating my body, tempering and refining it continuously. Mental Palace Art refined the raw spiritual power from the spirit ring, increasing my mental power by one or two thousand points. Finally, the Earthly Nourishment Manual expanded my meridian and formed the initial shape of Soul Core with the Thunderstruck Tree's neidan I consumed. The neidan is 50% depleted already, and the remaining is barely enough for me to reach Spirit Elder Realm.
Raging lightning and life energy have transformed my body, making it more robust than an ordinary Spirit King. It's horrifying to realize that a Spirit Grandmaster, who has only absorbed his second spirit ring, could possess such strength.
Five selections of spirit skills appeared in my mind, and I immediately chose the fifth one, Fallen Sacred Growth.
Although Angel's Descent and White Holy Lightning are good, they are not fully compatible with Purple Silver Grass's nature. Of course, there is also a good choice, like the Purple Silver Spear of Holiness.
Even then, I still chose Fallen Sacred Growth.
...
Fallen Sacred Growth.
Harness your lightning power to stimulate the growth of plants and freely alter the size of Purple Silver Grass without limits. When activated, the Purple Silver Grass will grow infinitely larger or smaller based on your choice. It will furthermore become 300% stronger, more resilient, and highly conductive when channeling lightning energy and emitting a faint sacred aura.
...
After choosing the spirit skill, I felt a "strong" tingling on my right hand's index finger. I said it was "strong" because my finger was on the verge of snapping itself.
I gritted my teeth and converted some lightning energy into life energy, channeling it to my finger. Then, it becomes slightly better.
Time passes quickly. I believe it's been three hours since I absorbed the 8,100-year-old spirit ring from the Fallen Lightning Bamboo.
Opening my eyes, I saw Han Yue and Liu Erlong sitting by a campfire and staring at me with worry. I exhaled some white mist from my mouth, a sign of body transformation.
"I absorbed it!" I smiled at them.
"Congratulations, Xiao Yuan~!" Han Yue hugged me, pampering me with her kisses and evil hands.
Liu Erlong saw this and sighed, "You brat is a monster."
"To successfully absorb an 8,100-year-old spirit ring as your second is unheard of."
"But I must warn you, never show your spirit rings to the public, or some greedy will catch you and do bad things."
"Oh, you mean like this?" I summoned the Purple Silver Grass and used the Thousand Eyes Method, changing the color of my spirit rings from purple to yellow.
"Wait, what?" Liu Erlong watched this magical scene happen and rubbed her eyes. "How did you do that? It's not an illusion, right?"
I shrugged, "It's our secret. I won't tell you."
"You..." Liu Erlong was speechless.
You're making me interested
And then hide the thing that interests me.
How annoying!!
Liu Erlong puffed her cheeks, "Fine, don't tell me. I don't need your fancy skills anyway."
"But you must join my Blue Tyrant Academy!"
"No."
"Join my Blue Tyrant Academy!"
"No."
"Then, let me adopt you!"
"No."
"Uugh, you! Call me mommy!"
"NO!"
Liu Erlong and I argued like we were in a rap battle, but I will always reject her.
Finally, Liu Erlong gave up, "Why?"
"Your Blue Tyrant Academy is good. I will give you a point for allowing "commoner" spirit masters to have a place to study." I replied calmly.
"However, do you forget that Blue Tyrant Academy is still considered the property of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Clan? As far as I know, you also have a male student from the Strength Clan who acts like a local tyrant in the academy."
"Although the Strength Clan has fallen due to the past event, they are still considered a noble clan."
"With such an environment, studying and cultivating wouldn't be productive, at least in my eyes."
"How did you..." Liu Erlong's eyes widened in shock.
"Have you investigated my place?"
"Investigate is a strong word." I gave her a firm look.
"I call it analysis."
"I also know more than you think."
"From my analysis, while your academy is good, it's not a good place for me and my sister to stay with all our secrets."
"Unless..."
"Unless?" Liu Erlong's eyes lit up.
My lips curved into a smile, "You create a new academy with me as a donator."
"So, the ones with key control will be me and you only."
"This is..." Liu Erlong fell into deep thought.
Honestly, the idea I suggested aligns with her hopes from childhood to build an academy where commoners can thrive. Unfortunately, she doesn't have that kind of money to build a new academy.
While Liu Erlong is a dreamer, she knows how to be realistic.
"Even if we want to create a new academy from scratch, we need a lot of money. Like a lot, a lot of money." Liu Erlong sighed, recalling her past struggle.
She barely has enough to maintain Blue Tyrant Academy's expenses.
"Fifty million," I threw numbers casually.
"Are fifty million golden coins enough for us to start?"
"If it wasn't enough, I can fork out more, though I need time."
"A-Are you serious?" Liu Erlong's body trembled as she stuttered. For the first time, she felt the power of money was overwhelming. "D-Do you really that much money?"
"I own a few profitable shares." My answer is simple and honest.
"So, what do you think? Do you want to build a new academy with me, Senior Erlong? I'll even let you become the dean with hefty pay."
"Still, don't forget you still owe me your body... Bodyguard duty."
"Okay, then! Deal!" Liu Erlong would be a fool if she rejected my proposal. The rational woman she had become would never give up on her dream, especially when the right conditions were met.
She grabbed my hand and shook it strongly. "Let's build an academy together, Xiao Yuan."
"From now on, my dream will shine through, hahaha~!"
Han Yue came to my side and whispered, "Is she going mad again?"
"Well, let her have some fun," I answered with a chuckle.