OOOM!
Early Nascent Soul Realm!
"My cultivation." Jiang Hao began, successfully attracting Xue Ren's attention. "I've been hiding it for years now all so as to peacefully live within this small area. But now, for the sake of obtaining a talent like you, I'm no longer going to conceal the truth."
'The Headmaster of Starling Academy is actually a Nascent Soul Realm Master!?'
The Enforcement Head was no better than his subordinates when it came to their joint surprise. And for good reason; after all, a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator hadn't appeared in the Star Bearer Province for thousands of years!
Yet, just as a few of the spectators were going to snap out of it and approach Jiang Hao, something mind-blowing occurred…
OOOM!
Jiang Hao's apparent cultivation base continued to soar upward, pushing everyone below the Foundation Establishment Realm back because of the intense spiritual winds!
2nd Layer!
3rd Layer!
Middle Nascent Soul Realm!!
5th Layer!
6th Layer!
Late Nascent Soul Realm!!
8th Layer!
9th Layer!
Peak Nascent Soul Realm!!!
11th Layer!
12th Layer!
Half-step Soul Formation Realm!
Without stopping, Headmaster Jiang's cultivation slammed into the barrier of a Realm only described in mythical legends.
WAAA!
Early Soul Formation Realm!
"Is this enough to convince you, young man?" Jiang Hao looked and felt vastly different from before, making others feel as if they were staring at a literal god. "If not, then I can reveal a little more—"
"No," said Xue Ren, still-faced. "You've convinced me. From this day forth, you're my Master."
"Good, good." Jiang Hao nodded in approval, returning his apparent cultivation back to the Half-step Nascent Soul Realm. "You'll make for a good disciple. I have high hopes for you, you know?"
"Mhm, by the way, I take advance payments." Xue Ren extended his cupped hands, 100% serious. "Whenever you feel like it, Master."
"Huh? Oh yes, here." Jiang Hao felt like he was being swindled, but he still took out a storage ring containing an assortment of cultivation resources, gold coins, and Spirit Stones. "This is more than enough to entice most Golden Core Realm Cultivators. Consider it the first gift of many for my second disciple—"
Tsk. Xue Ren clicked his tongue, dumping out most of the things inside the storage ring, which were admittedly cultivation resources and treasures. "I don't need any of this trash. Only the weak rely on external garbage. I want to trade all of it for more money."
Trash??
Garbage??
Refusal to rely on external resources!?
Just what in the hell was going on in this young man's brain!?
"Trade…?" Jiang Hao repeated just to make sure he was hearing things correctly.
Did Xue Ren think him to be a streetside merchant or something??
Sighing, Jiang Hao took out another storage ring. This one consisted entirely of Spirit Stones and Gold Coins, putting Xue Ren in a far more amicable mood.
"This one's name is Xue Ren," he declared cordially as he snatched up all the money. "From now on, I'll be counting on you to further enhance my training. Just no more of that trash."
Enhance your training…?
Seriously, what was this young man even talking about half the time??
"Yes, yes… You can count on your Master." Jiang Hao suddenly started to regret so hastily accepting such a weirdly eccentric disciple. "Anyway, I hear that you have a blood feud with the Bloodring Assassin's Guild. Do you still plan to—"
"Yes." Xue Ren revealed a rarely seen look of hatred. "No matter what, I have to kill them all. Even if I die because of it, I still must accomplish this. Only that way can the next stage of my training truly begin."
The matter of avenging his parents was something akin to a mental demon for him.
Unless he followed the revenge to the end, it was unlikely he'd ever see a breakthrough into the Foundation Establishment Realm. This, for him, was inexcusable.
"They have to die."
Observing his unshakable resolve and killing intent, Jiang Hao was not disappointed. Rather, he returned to thinking that this unusual young man really was the most fitting to be his disciple and ascend to the peak of cultivation.
"I won't inquire about the reasons for your deeply-rooted hatred for the Bloodring Assassin's, but you must be aware that you aren't strong enough to face them as you are, aren't you?" Jiang Hao asked a question he already knew the answer to. "But don't worry, for I have several Seclusion Chambers in my Academy. They have Atmospheric Spiritual Energy levels over five times that of the outside world, and normally it's extremely difficult for other students to rent one out. But for you, I'll make an exception and give you permanent ownership over one, with the built-in Atmospheric Spiritual Energy Enhancer all yours."
"!!!"
"!!!"
"!!!"
Those of the Enforcement Department had long since heard rumors of the mystical Seclusion Chambers of Starling Academy. They were, after all, one of the primary reasons all youngsters in the Star Bearer Province so badly wanted to join the Academy.
Even other nearby Provinces didn't have Academies that possessed Cultivation Chambers of such a high level.
But with Jiang Hao's true identity as a Soul Formation Realm Legend, it made a whole lot more sense why he had access to high-level Atmospheric Spiritual Energy Arrays.
Xue Ren was naturally not averse to this arrangement of Jiang Hao's.
'But can increased Atmospheric Spiritual Energy density be counted as external resources…?'
That was the real question.
And just like when it came to the System's first appearance, Xue Ren debated it.