Chapter 29: Unexpected Discovery
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Zhu Rong still had 2 hours left before his time in the training room would be over, but he didn't stay.
He could tell that the density of spiritual energy in the training room had dropped drastically, and it would take a few hours before it settled back to normal again.
Every low grade training room was powered by a source of spiritual energy, which varied depending on the room's level and type.
The ones used for low level rooms like the one he was in were basically fueled by low-grade spirit stones.
It might not sound like much, but a cultivator would need to train for at least 10 days straight before even a single stone would be completely drained,
and yet, here he was, having nearly exhausted the stone's energy in less than a day.
He could already imagine the look on the attendant's face when he checked the state of the stone.
Not that it was his problem.
The sect charged a certain amount of credits for each hour of training, and technically, this should've made them more than what they'd spent on a low grade spirit stone,
but that was under normal circumstances.
He could tell the stone had been replaced not long ago and had been quite rich in spiritual energy when he entered the room.
Now though, it was probably almost depleted and would need to be replaced in a day or two at most.
Even though he didn't care about the academy's loss, he had to admit that his cultivation speed was way higher than he'd expected.
He was expecting to see a good increase in his body's rate of absorption and refinement of spiritual energy,
but the speed at which he drained the room's energy had even caught him by surprise.
He realized it was all because he was nourishing the Firecore inside his dantian, and this awareness made him reconsider a few things.
'At this rate, I might break through to the first stage in another session or two,' he thought excitedly.
Without a special physique or high talent, he'd expected it would still take him a few more days before finally stepping into the first stage of Mortal realm.
And yet, based on what he'd just experienced, he might be able to do it in much less time.
He'd already thought up several ways to accelerate his cultivation advancement, but it looked like he wouldn't need those methods for now.
'Haa, looks like I'm way more incredible than I thought.' he said, shaking his head as he left.
The attendant at the registration counter gave him a weird look as he walked out of the building and couldn't help but recall the scene from yesterday.
'At least this time he didn't leave half dead,' the man told himself, deciding to ignore the strange subject and return to the manual he was reading.
He didn't know that the days ahead would be hell for him, and that was because Zhu Rong planned to cultivate here every day until he'd consolidated the first stage of cultivation.
He'd used up his academy credits to reserve the room for the whole day, and now that he was out of them, he finally decided to head to the academy's mission hall.
Whether he liked it or not, the academy was his only place to cultivate quickly, since with his current cultivation level he couldn't go wandering around the forest in search of natural spiritual sources,
nor could he afford to buy high grade Qi refinement pills.
He'd earned a good sum from his work at Old Iron's shop, but it was still far from enough to buy cultivation materials.
Cultivators constantly needed materials for their cultivation, and needless to say, you needed deep pockets for that, otherwise, you risked falling behind.
That's why many independent cultivators or those from common families could only hope to join an organization that would support them, or complete missions and similar work to earn the funds for their cultivation resources.
The Mission Hall was perfect for that, since it helped the academy take care of minor affairs while also giving its students the chance to gain outside experience.
There were other places in the city of Qiyan where you could accept missions of various kinds in exchange for rewards.
but for a student, this place was the best.
He planned to drop by tomorrow morning since it was already evening now and the mission hall closed after 10.
Zhu Rong took his time walking back to his dormitory.
It was a habit he'd developed over time, and after old age caught up to him, he'd found himself going for outdoor walks much more often.
It helped calm his mind and lighten his thoughts.
He didn't know if it was because of his age or something else, but he found it pleasant, so he kept the habit even in this life.
After several minutes he finally arrived at his dormitory, and just as he was about to step into the building, he suddenly remembered something.
'Oh right, I still haven't given her the other half of that technique,' he thought, stopping for a moment to decide what to do.
It didn't take long before he shook his head and stepped into the building.
'Oh well, I'll do it tomorrow. She'd probably get mad if I showed up at this hour, right?' he thought, brushing the matter aside.
Meanwhile, in a building within the instructors' residential area, a refined looking woman was sitting on an outdoor bench.
Her features were delicate, and the last rays of sunlight only served to enhance her beauty.
But contrary to what one might think seeing such a beautiful scene, the woman's expression was gloomy as she stared at the setting sun and muttered angrily:
'That bastard, don't tell me he forgot to stop by and give me the other half.'
As she grumbled, clearly furious, her maid standing nearby didn't know what kind of expression to make.
It had already been 3 hours since she and her mistress had been waiting there, and though curious, she hadn't asked what it was about.
At first, she thought her mistress just wanted to enjoy the evening outdoors, but now seeing her expression, she realized she was probably waiting for someone.
'I wonder what kind of shameless guy would keep the lady waiting this long… If I see him, I'll give him a little lesson myself,' she thought to herself, mentally noting to have a word with whoever it was they were waiting for.
Without knowing it, Zhu Rong had just landed himself on another angry woman's blacklist.