Fang Lang spent the whole night absorbing spirit crystals.

The spirit crystals provided by the System were completely exhausted by Fang Lang. All that was left were the gold coins.

Whoosh!

Smoke rose from the crown of his head. The spiritual energy in his body came to a boilthey flowed through his meridians like a rushing river.

Eighth grade!

In the binding partner's cultivation state, he used up more than a dozen spirit crystals to achieve the breakthrough from seventh grade to eighth grade.

The System's experience bar was filled halfway. He was 5000 points away from leveling uphe just had to spend the 5000 gold coins on cultivation resources.

The morning sun lit the Earth.

Fang Lang opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.

Excitement surged in his chest.

Eighth-grade sword disciple.

His diligence had paid offhe had successfully transformed from a third-grade sword disciple to an eighth-grade sword disciple.

"To go from the eighth grade to the ninth grade will take a significant number of spirit crystals."

Fang Lang did not let his happiness cloud reality.

The advancement of cultivation grade necessitated an exponential increase in spiritual energy. The number of spirit crystals needed to ascend increased with one's cultivation grade.

Fang Lang managed to go from the fifth grade to eighth grade with 50 spirit crystals. The same would not apply for his next advancement.

Fortunately, he did not have to worry about his access to cultivation resources. When he leveled up the System, he would be provided with sufficient resources.

If that was not enough, Fang Lang had the spirit crystals given to him by Old Fangten low-grade spirit crystals and two mid-grade spirit crystals.

Achieving the eighth grade was simply not enough for Fang Lang. It was not time to be arrogant or complacent.

The eighth grade would not cut it. To get into the honor roll, he had to be at least a ninth-grade cultivator.

After all, the Imperial Examination was taken by cultivation students from all parts of the Tang Dynasty.

Fang Lang got up from bed and stretched his muscles. The first class of each discipline was akin to laying the foundation for cultivation. At this stage, every advancement was an evolution of the physical body and spiritual meridians.

"I should take some time to go shopping with the System's money. Once that's done, the System will level up. Not only will I get more cultivation resources, I'll also gain an extra binding slot."

Fang Lang's eyes crinkled as anticipation built up in his chest.

Spending money was easy, right?

Fang Lang threw on a fresh set of green robe and tied the Blooming Lotus Sword to his back. After breakfast, he left the Fang Manor and headed for the academy.

It had been a few days since he last saw Little Wen. Fang Lang missed...the cultivation-related meaningful interactions.

As he stepped onto academy grounds, numerous pairs of eyes watched him. There were looks of surprise, admiration and confusion.

The attention made Fang Lang feel awkward. He normally kept a low profile in the academy.

A hush fell over the study hall when Fang Lang entered the seventh block. The chatter among the students died down.

Even the geniuses on the honor roll studied Fang Lang.

Was this attention the side effect of becoming a genius?

Was this how it felt like to be above others?

What an odd feeling Fang Lang could get used to it.

He got to his desk and sat cross-legged. He rested his head on one hand while his fingers tapped the desk.

His gaze went to Ni Wen's deskit was still empty.

Gradually, the chatter in the room slowly picked up again.

The announcement made by the two Sword Guild disciples was still the talk of the town. Fang Lang's ranking in the individual event was the current hot topic.

His popularity in the academy surpassed that of the top ten geniuses on the honor roll.

"It's impressive that Fang Lang placed first in the individual event!"

"The Gathering of Swords doesn't take into account the cultivation grade. It means Fang Lang's sword techniques and skills are unparalleled!"

"He got first place so why is he still attending classes? Shouldn't he be in the Sword Guild?"

"He wants to have a go at the Imperial Examination in hopes of a better offer? But what can he do besides sword fighting? His ego might be over-inflated if he thinks he can do better in the Imperial Examination."

The students continued gossiping while shooting glances at Fang Lang.

Despite Fang Lang's stellar performance in the Gathering of Swords, the students had little confidence in his cultivation talents.

They figured his Imperial Examination results might not even grant him a place in the Sword Guild.

Even with the additional 30 points, Fang Lang would struggle to obtain the minimum score to pass, given his core and cultivation grade. To get into the Sword Guild through the examination was a monumental task.

He would be the butt of the joke if he scored terribly in the Imperial Examination. His grades might warrant a place in a second- or third-tier sect.

His unchecked ego would have cost him an opportunity to join an elite sect.

Fang Lang ignored the flurry of discussions surrounding him.

His eyes lit up when he saw Ni Wen. She was dressed in the green academy robe, head lowered as usual. She shuffled quietly into the study hall.

"Little Wen!" Fang Lang called out.

Ni Wen's head shot up and the sight of an approaching Fang Lang made her heart race like a startled deer. It had been some time since she last saw the boy.

Fang Lang sat across Ni Wen's desk as usual, not the least affected by the gap in communication.

Without much preamble, he started a discussion about cultivation.

Ni Wen's heart rate progressively improved throughout the conversation and a gentle expression graced her face.

She had been worried Fang Lang would look down on her after winning the competition.

However, his attitude towards her remained unchanged. The weight in her chest disappeared as she merrily engaged in productive discussions with Fang Lang about cultivation.

Fang Lang was speaking about the Tang Dynasty's Spell Scripture. Before, he had engaged in a meaningful interaction with Old Jiang and received a spell talisman. A rune for the Flight Sword Crossover Turbo Charge?

As a sword disciple, Fang Lang only understood some parts of the rune. His knowledge in spells and runes was lacking.

Spell mastery had a variety of specializations. Ni Wen was especially interested in the topic Fang Lang brought uprune theory.

A slender finger peeked out from the green sleeve and doodled on the desk.

She explained her thought process to Fang Lang.

Fang Lang's background in spell mastery was mediocre but with Ni Wen's cultivation mode activated, he was able to gain insights and contribute a few ideas to the topic. In the end, he had a better understanding of the spell talisman.

'Ding! The host has engaged in meaningful interactions with the binding partner, Ni Wen. Your reward is a Grade-Rush Card Fragment.'

The System message popped up.

Evidently, Little Wen was the better choice for interactions.

The familiar Grade-Rush Card Fragment was useful.

He appreciated the ability to reduce the partner-binding time.

Their enthusiastic discussion was cut short by Mentor Wen's banging of the gavel atop the dais. Fang Lang reluctantly went back to his own desk.

Outside Luojiang City, two streaks of light entered the city perimeter.

The flight swords shot through the sky, silver runes spinning around the sword guards.

Protection runes were stamped on the riders' body.

Two flight swords for two riders.

One rider opened his eyes and turned to his partner who carried a rusty sword on his back. "The Sword Guild has announced Fang Lang's retrieval of the Blooming Lotus Sword to the whole empire. The third prince said to not steal the sword."

The person with the rusty sword grinned.

"Steal the sword? No. I'm not stupid. Stealing the sword from Fang Lang would be equivalent to offending the Sword Guild and Xuanyuan Taihua. The sect allowed a sword disciple to remove the sword from Mount Shu. It wouldn't be wise to offend Xuanyuan Taihua, even with the master and the third prince on my side."

The tall and sturdy figure nodded. "Glad you think so. The boy seems to be on familiar terms with the Jiang family's prodigy. The girl has mastered the Four Season Form. The third prince wants to know if Fang Lang's a chess piece under the Jiang family's control."

Lin Yun rubbed his chest and clenched his fist. He remembered the bloody mess Fang Lang made of him. A grin was on his face as he looked over Luojiang City.

"Coincidentally, I have a personal vendetta against him."

Classes ended when the final bell was rung.

Two students rushed over to Fang Langit was Yang Zhengyi and Liu Bubai.

"Lang'zi, my friend, why didn't you tell me you got first place? I've arranged the Queen of Flowers for your celebration at the entertainment house," Yang Zhengyi said excitedly as he flipped his fringe.

Liu Bubai shot Yang Zhengyi a disapproving look.

Vulgar!

The blade was more interesting than feminine pleasures.

"Fang Lang, let's practice! You're aiming to get into the Sword Guild's inner sect through the Imperial Examination, right? I'll train with you! My father rewarded me with a flight sword. After practice, I'll give you a ride around," Liu Bubai said proudly.

Despite his minor contribution in the competition, he still received 13 bonus points.

Liu Bubai's pride was untampered after the Gathering of Swords. He still retained the arrogance of Luojiang's Young Blade God.

With much pain and reluctance, Fang Lang declined Yang Zhengyi's invite. As for Liu Bubai's practice offer, he saw no point in them crossing swords when Old Jiang was absent.

Liu Bubai's sword techniques were too weak for Fang Lang's consideration.

"Old Liu, you go ahead. I have some important matters to attend to today."

Fang Lang's rejection was curt.

Liu Bubai was crestfallen.

'When I'm needed, you call me the ace. Now that I'm not needed, you call me Old Liu'

Fang Lang ignored the unhappy Liu Bubai. He bade Ni Wen goodbye and left for the Jade Pavilion.

As he entered the establishment, the attractive and charming Manager Yu welcomed him with a smile. Her eyes twinkled as if an important customer just walked in.