Chapter 6: Big Trouble

After finishing his registration and obtaining a cultivation technique, Daoist robes, and other miscellaneous items, Wang Baole put on the red Daoist robe meant for specially-recruited students. He was standing near a mountain peak. Although it was a little remote, he could not help but grin when standing before a beautiful building with excellent scenery.

In front of him was a purple stone door, which opened automatically, revealing a cave abode!

This is the legendary cave abode! Wang Baole could not contain his excitement. For many students, they could only reside in buildings that resembled dormitories. Only a select few had the right to live inside a cave abode at the mountain peak.

After all, that which is rare is dear. A mountain could have many buildings built, but the number of cave abodes was fixed. It was difficult to increase the number. Furthermore, the cave abodes had array formations that gathered Spirit Qi, making them have much denser Spirit Qi than the buildings.

Despite having a small cave abode, what Wang Baole had was enough to make countless students green with envy.

He could acutely feel how different his robe was from the other students’. He looked at his cave abode, and noticing that there was no one around, Wang Baole finally could not help but roar with laughter. He felt highly spirited. After entering the cave abode, he realized it had a veranda despite it not being very big. It stretched out twenty feet past the edge of the mountain peak. Standing there felt like he was standing in the sky. The complacent Wang Baole walked to the veranda and took in the scenery. He was in an extremely good mood as he took out a bag of snacks.

Wang Baole ate his snacks while he reveled in his good mood. He took out the martial cultivation technique that was unique to Ethereal Dao College. He saw, on the first page, three words written with bold, vigorous strokes!

Ancient Martial Arts!

It was not something unique to the Dharmic Armament faculty. All students in the Lower Academy were required to study this foundational cultivation technique. After freshmen were matriculated, they would enter their various faculties according to their choices, where they would learn all the unique knowledge the faculty had to offer. As for Ancient Martial Arts, it was provided to all faculties, intended as a foundational cultivation technique that supported the knowledge gained from each faculty.

The Ancient Martial realm has three stages: Blood Qi, Physical Seal, and Pulse Enrichment! As dusk approached, the wind turned colder. It blew at Wang Baole, making him feel extremely comfortable. The expression he had while reading the cultivation technique also turned more focused.

Only when the evening glow by the horizon was fully replaced by darkness did Wang Baole look up. He had finished reading the Ancient Martial Arts manual. He finally had a full understanding of the Ancient Martial realm.

Those at the Blood Qi stage have immense strength. Those at the Physical Seal are extremely precise and accurate. Once Pulse Enrichment is attained… one would be pushed to the peak of human physical conditioning! Wang Baole took a deep breath. He recalled the scene of the red-dressed youth, Chen Ziheng, striking the mountain. His eyes slowly began to burn with excitement.

To become Federation President, ancient martial arts are necessary. Besides, I can lose weight while cultivating in it. It kills many birds with one stone. In his excitement, Wang Baole began his attempt at cultivation. However, he suddenly had a change in expression. He raised his right hand and pulled out the black half-mask.

Wang Baole looked at the mask ruminatively. He could not forget how the mask had turned incorporeal during the test. There was also the blurry text that had appeared.

This must be a treasure! Wang Baole’s heart raced. His parents were involved in archeology, and it was for this reason that his house seemed to be filled with objects that appeared like junk.

Wang Baole had once fantasized that one of the antiques hid a treasure, but he had played with nearly every one of them from a young age. He had even secretly dripped some blood to see if anything spectacular would happen.

With the mask in hand, he carefully studied it once more. Other than the somewhat ice-cold material, he still did not notice anything extraordinary about it. When he finally recalled that the mask produced changes only in a special environment like the test, his eyes lit up.

It looks like there’s a need for me to borrow a similar Dharmic artifact. Perhaps, I can unravel the secrets of this mask! With this thought in mind, he noticed that the sky had turned dark. The somewhat tired Wang Baole returned to his cave abode and arranged his luggage happily. He had not packed a lot of clothes. Most of his items were strange. There was even a large megaphone.

All of these are treasures gathered by me to aid me in becoming an official. If I hadn’t been able to find my luggage in my dream, I would not have needed to go through so much hardship! Wang Baole yawned as he looked at the treasures in his luggage, satisfied. Just as he was about to sleep, he suddenly jolted and sat up.

I can’t grow dizzy from success. The high officials’ autobiographies illustrate many cases of people who lose themselves to their momentary success. They tend to end up in tragedy! Wang Baole drew a gasp. After repressing the excitement in him, he began pondering over the reason for the way the teachers looked at him and the way Goatee treated him. Matching it to his status as a specially-recruited student, the answer was evident.

They must have discovered that something was amiss. When Wang Baole came to this conclusion from his analysis, his heart turned cold as a chill ran down his spine.

I have to stay low during this period of time. It would be best if it appears as if I don’t exist. If not, there will only be trouble! Wang Baole turned vexed. He did not wish to lose everything he had at present. While suffering from his headache, he could not help but blame the lack of a backer for his predicament.

I need to think of a way to quickly get a backer.

Three days passed by quickly. As the various faculties released their lists of admitted students, all the students moved into their various faculty peaks. College life was about to begin after the matriculated students fully grasped the college rules and regulations.

Wang Baole kept a low profile during the three days. He began his attempt at cultivating Ancient Martial Arts. He virtually did not step out of his cave abode, afraid he would gain the notice of Goatee. He believed that he might be a lot safer if he survived the sensitive period.

Although he had a nice wish, news regarding the various districts’ tests began to spread on the Dao College’s Spirit Intranet as the students settled in. It quickly became a hot topic.

After all, nearly a hundred hot-air balloon cruisers with nearly a hundred venues had undergone their district tests simultaneously. Many excellent students caught the attention of people.

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“Did you hear? Among one of the freshmen from Skycloud City is a person named Lu Jingnan. He actually set a trap to slay the Barbed Bone Iguana. He was extremely impressive!”

“That’s nothing. I heard that an expert named Chen Ziheng appeared in Phoenix City’s test. He is only just short of the Physical Seal stage of the Ancient Martial realm. He was offered invitations from eight different faculties at the same time. He’s famous!” As the Lower Academy Island’s various faculties began discussing the freshmen on the Spirit Intranet, more people were gradually mentioned.

“The one who steals the show must be Chen Yameng. Rumor has it that she was born with a spirit body. She can refine Spirit Stones that are eighty percent pure. She could have entered the best college in the Federation, White Deer Dao College, but our Ethereal Dao College spared no expense and gave her an irresistible offer!”

“Chen Yameng is truly extraordinary. There’s another person who is her equal. He might even surpass her. He’s Zhuo Yifan. Rumor has it that he was born with Inkstar Eyes. Every time he activates them, everything around him appears slow. Furthermore, he is already at the perfected Physical Seal stage. His identity is a greater mystery, and he is rumored to be a member of the Five Generation Sky Clan. He has been specially recruited by the Combat faculty!”

Amid the discussion, all the noteworthy freshmen were brought to the forefront. Even the senior students felt the heat when they heard the news. And for Wang Baole, who was desperately trying to keep a low profile, he rose to prominence like a bright star. After all, he had been specially recruited, and his performance in the test had been spread by hundreds of students from Phoenix City.

“There are two specially-recruited students this batch. One of them is Zhuo Yifan, and the other is… Wang Baole! Speaking of Wang Baole, he has extremely high morals. He is filled with righteousness and is willing to sacrifice himself for others. In order to save his schoolmates, he charged into a sea of snakes despite the appearance of a Red Bone White Neonate Snake. In order to give his schoolmates a chance to survive, he fed himself to the wolves. He once said the heart-stirring statement that he would live and die as one of Ethereal Dao College!”

“Also, even after seeing an Ancient Boor Specter Bear, Wang Baole still struggled to crawl over, despite his grievous injuries. He attempted to use his body to lure the Specter Bear away so as to save his schoolmates!”

This matter spread rapidly, causing Wang Baole to become famous. His name was soon known to all on the Lower Academy Island.

Wang Baole, through his voice transmission ring, could not help but turn cold from fright when he saw the talk on the Spirit Intranet after logging in. He felt that trouble was brewing, and he quickly posted a thread.

“Hello everyone, I’m Wang Baole. All of you were mistaken. I was actually very afraid back then. The reason I charged into the snake swarm was not that I am selfless, but that I find my schoolmate, Zhou Xiaoya, very pretty. I wanted to court her. Really…”

Wang Baole posted his message through clenched teeth. He hoped that he could lower the attention he received by sullying himself. He did not dare to keep a high profile.

But he did not imagine that the moment he posted the message, it quickly gained the affirmation and replies of countless students. Most of them were female students. They replied, calling him a real man!

Wang Baole nearly fainted as he was close to tears. He lamented about how he had bolstered the impressions people had of him despite believing that it would do the opposite. Thus, he posted another message.

“Actually, I only blocked the pack of wolves because I was poisoned. I knew I was about to die, so I would rather enjoy a quick death. The person who saved everyone was not me. All the credit should be given to Chen Ziheng!”

Wang Baole was just about to heave a sigh of relief after writing that. He felt that by giving Chen Ziheng all the credit, attention would be placed on Chen Ziheng and not him.

However… Wang Baole’s relief only lasted a short while. Chen Ziheng suddenly posted a reply, claiming that Wang Baole was inferior to him when it came to martial arts, but in terms of heroic spirit, tenacity, and selflessness, he was inferior to Wang Baole!

The moment the message was posted, it immediately caused the Spirit Intranet to boil over. After all, Chen Ziheng was famous. What he said carried weight. Immediately, countless people began discussing the matter. It made Wang Baole’s plan of diverting away attention fail once again. More attention was placed on him, even more than Chen Yameng.

All of this made Wang Baole feel like slamming his head against the wall. He reeled in despair as tears rolled down his cheeks. Even his organs were trembling.

Heavens, are you guys trying to get me killed? Spare me! I admit my mistake, alright?

With tears streaming down his cheeks, he gritted his teeth and posted once again.

“Everyone, please don’t mind me anymore. I’m just an ordinary fatty. There is nothing good about me. I’m gluttonous, lustful, and avaricious. I only barely passed the placement exams, and the Spirit Stones I can refine are only a little better than fifty percent. I’m really just an ordinary person!”

Wang Baole felt that this act of sullying of himself was complete. Any bad thing he could think of had been added. However, the development of the situation nearly shocked his jaw off.

This time, it was Liu Daobin who stepped forward. He left a message that resonated in an unprecedented manner with countless students!

“Chen Yameng is impressive. Zhuo Yifan is even more remarkable. However, they were already the best of us freshmen. They have more than what it takes to rescue people or complete tests, but Wang Baole is different. He was saving people with his life. It’s just like how a wealthy person can give you a hundred Spirit Stones, but when compared to a poor person who gives you all his savings of a hundred Spirit Stones, how can that act have the same meaning? Wang Baole is just like us. He is only an ordinary student, so how can he be without flaws? But it is such a person, with him sacrificing himself to save others, that makes it even more shocking. That bloody scene is something I will never forget my entire life!”

His words immediately stirred a fervor. It caused the comments on the Lower Academy Island’s Spirit Intranet to increase exponentially. Topics on Wang Baole exceeded Zhuo Yifan’s, making him stand out amid the batch of freshmen!

Wang Baole was completely dumbfounded as he looked at the Spirit Intranet in a daze. He did not think he was that great. It took him a while to recover as his eyes were filled with despair. He took out a bag of snacks while looking as though life held nothing for him. He began munching on the snacks.

I’m finished. I’m finished! I’m in big trouble!

Indeed, it did not take long before the teachers on the Phoenix City cruiser took notice. They could not maintain their silence and publicly announced the news that Wang Baole had cheated on the test.

Like massive ripples formed from a stone drop, the announcement immediately caused a huge upheaval all across the Lower Academy Island!