Chapter 230: The Academy of Literary Elegance

“Mystical Superior” refers to advanced martial arts that require reaching the Mystical Realm to practice. Needless to say, such arts are undoubtedly stronger than those at the Creative Realm’s superior level. Techniques like the “Seven Stars Sword Art,” originating from the Tianchi Sword Sect, are quite good among superior martial arts and can be considered mid-tier within the Mystical Superior category.
The “Seven Stars Sword Art” includes the “Star Breathing Method” and the “Seven Stars Sword Techniques”!
Among them, the “Star Breathing Method” is a mental technique of the Mystical Superior realm. Its use significantly accelerates recovery and also helps broaden meridians and strengthen one’s foundation.
To date, few people possess mental techniques from the Mystical Realm, and the same is true for the Seven Stars Sword Techniques. All the top fighters on the Dragon and Phoenix Lists have reached their current status by mastering complete sets of superior secrets from the Creative Realm. Once mastered, this sword art will ensure that one is at least unafraid of most experts on the Dragon and Phoenix Lists—if not invincible in the world.
After mastering the “Big Dipper Sword Art” to the Grandmaster level, Happy’s internal energy also finally reached the Mystical Realm. Unfortunately, it still didn’t meet the requirements for practicing the “Seven Stars Sword Art.”
Requirements for practicing the “Seven Stars Sword Art”: Arm Strength 37, Foundation 41, Comprehension 60, Movement Skills 47. Required internal energy realm: Mystical Realm!
Player: Happy (Mystical Realm)
Arm Strength 56, Foundation 57, Comprehension 51, Movement Skills 60.
Although his internal energy met the requirements, his arm strength, foundation, and movement skills exceeded the standards due to mastering multiple martial arts at the Grandmaster level, along with Grandmaster-level defensive techniques and lightness skills. However, improving comprehension was quite challenging. Despite a few instances of extra comprehension boosts, he was still some distance away from mastering the Seven Stars Sword Art—this was actually a measure by the system to protect players, preventing some from focusing solely on advancing their internal energy or comprehension to master superior arts too quickly, which could lead to skill gaps.
But for Happy, this wasn’t a hindrance.
After informing Xiao Bei and Lei Zhan, he quickly summoned his jujube-red horse, and together they rushed out of the White Tiger Forest!
Over these days, in addition to the gold and silver earned from selling the superior secrets and equipment from Fox Cave, they had also acquired many spoils from battles. Plus, the white tiger skin from the Mystical Realm “White Tiger” in the White Tiger Forest was extremely valuable. His total wealth had now exceeded four million, all stored in a pawnshop…

Returning to Wuhu County, Kai Xin headed straight to the pawnshop. After glancing at the high-quality martial arts manuals available for purchase, he left behind one million taels of silver and took three million taels with him, arriving at a quiet, scholarly residence. On the plaques on either side were the inscriptions: “Read—ten thousand books!” and “Travel—ten thousand miles!” The horizontal plaque read: “Shulu Academy.” Kai Xin did not dare drive his horse inside; instead, he dismounted. The main gate of Shulu Academy was wide open, and the solemn sound of reading could be faintly heard, conveying a sense of peace and tranquility beyond the world of martial arts. His expression grew serious as he changed out of his ordinary blue clothes and hero’s headband, dressing like an ordinary student before entering this private academy established by the system. After taking a few steps, he was stopped at the entrance of the academy’s hall by an old man with gray beard. Dressed in white robes and wearing a kind smile that also carried a hint of seriousness, the old man asked, “Young man, this is not a place for those from the martial arts world. Why have you come in?” “I am here to study,” replied Kai Xin. “And why study?” The old man looked intently into Kai Xin’s eyes, as if trying to see through the young man’s thoughts. But Kai Xin was prepared and replied calmly, “To learn the ways of the sages, to set aspirations, and to become a good person.” “Hmm, not bad,” said the old man, a hint of satisfaction appearing on his serious face. He stroked his gray beard and waved his hand, allowing Kai Xin to enter. This was actually a small test at the academy. If one failed this test, stammering and unable to give a proper answer, the old man would refuse them without hesitation, and neither the academies nor teachers in Wuhu County would teach them anything. In his past life, many people were expelled from their local academies for failing to answer correctly or guess the six virtues and six conduct standards upheld by Confucianism (wisdom, trustworthiness, sanctity, benevolence, righteousness, loyalty; filial piety, friendship, harmony, marriage, responsibility, compassion), forcing them to travel long distances to other cities to try their luck again and again before they could succeed in their studies! “Thank you, teacher!” Kai Xin bowed politely and entered the hall under the old man’s approving gaze. Inside the hall, filled with the sound of reading, hundreds of seats were occupied by people dressed in elegant white scholar’s robes, nodding their heads rhythmically with great grace. Only a few wereboringly flipping through books, writing diligently below…

Of course, not all of these people were players—early on, few players could afford to spend large sums of money to attend private academies for training. All those serious-looking scholars were actually NPCs arranged by the system, there to lull people into a sense of familiarity, only to make way for players when they arrived. Those who were actually reading books or writing were the real players…

Kai Xin’s arrival quickly caught the attention of the six players in the hall. Their eyes lit up as they cast curious and speculative glances at him. “Brother, there’s a seat over here,” several of those sitting together waved to invite him.

It should be noted that at this stage, only those with considerable wealth could afford to enter such private academies, and they were all shrewd individuals who hoped to unite to form their own circle, which would help build connections and accelerate their progress. As a result, many factions deliberately sent their disciples to these academies, avoiding spending money on learning in the hope of attracting capable partners to join their ranks.

Kai Xin wasn’t interested in dealing with such people. He was here to quickly improve his understanding, not to waste time chatting idly. He found a seat and skillfully summoned the learning system. There were many books on the Four Books and Five Classics, each representing different points of understanding and requiring varying amounts of money to study. The simplest, the Three Character Classic, could grant 1 point of understanding after just one copy, but it cost 50,000 taels of silver, and it couldn’t be copied repeatedly… There were only a dozen or so books that offered 1 point of understanding. Those offering 2 points were even more expensive—180,000 taels per copy, roughly equivalent to a top-quality martial arts manual. Books offering 3 points cost 450,000 taels. With such prices, who could afford to buy them easily?

The six people over there, who had initially looked down on Kai Xin from afar, quickly held their breath as book after book appeared on his table. Their eyes widened in astonishment, and they fell silent!