Binding Partner: Liu Bubai

Age: 15

Cultivation: Ninth-Grade Sword Disciple (First-Class Sword Mastery)

Core: 13 (Yellow)

Cultivation Speed: 3 low-grade spirit crystals/two hours

Fang Lang swiftly pulled up Liu Bubai's stats.

To his surprise, they were not half bad!

It turned out Liu Bubai had a yellow core, just like Little Wen. However, Little Wen's yellow core was of top quality while Liu Bubai's was nothing impressive.

Nonetheless, it was a pleasant surprise for Fang Lang. He was not after Liu Bubai's core.

On an impulse, Fang Lang took out the spirit crystal provided by the System. The System had upgraded to Level 3 and a substantial amount of cultivation resources were provided250,000 Tang Dynasty gold coins and 150 spirit crystals. The System also provided a mid-grade spirit crystal!

One mid-grade spirit crystal trumped a hundred low-grade spirit crystals.

Even so, in reality, absorbing one mid-grade spirit crystal was not equivalent to absorbing the spiritual energy of a hundred low-grade spirit crystals. A mid-grade spirit crystal contained spiritual energy of superior quality, hence the absorption process was less time-consuming. The real reason for its high price in the market was its low rate of production.

Fang Lang did not hold on to this mid-grade spirit crystal as if it was some precious treasure; it was supposed to be used after all. He took out the crystal and held it in his palm. The crystal was around the size of his fist. One could just barely see through the outer layer of the lustrous crystal and see the rich spiritual energy billowing inside.

He covered the crystal with his other hand.

Fang Lang slowly closed his eyes.

"Switch to Triple Binding Mode!"

Fang Lang said as he gathered his focus.

Dual Binding Mode utilized Jiang Linglong's gold core as the main binding partner, along with ten percent of Ni Wen's cultivation abilities.

With Triple Binding Mode, Fang Lang could add Liu Bubai's yellow core into the mix, gaining ten percent of his cultivation abilities. In other words, Fang Lang's cultivation speed in Triple Binding Mode was approximately ten percent faster than in Dual Binding Mode!

Boom!

As Fang Lang sat cross-legged on the bed, the mid-grade spirit crystal in his palms emitted bright beams of light. It was an peculiarity that happened when the spiritual energy of a spirit crystal was being absorbed at lightning speed.

Fang Lang felt the spiritual energy pouring into his body like a raging river!

Spiritual energy flooded his veins!

However

It was not enough!

"System, activate 5X Amplification Card!"

Fang Lang commanded assertively.

'Ding! 5X Amplification Card cannot be used with multiple binding partners. Please select one binding partner.'

Fang Lang was startled for a moment, then he answered without hesitation, "Jiang Linglong."

'Ding! Beginning switch.

'Switch completed. You have obtained sixty percent of your binding partner, Jiang Linglong's, cultivation inspiration and cultivation speed. Along with the 5X Amplification Card, you now possess three hundred percent of your binding partner's cultivation inspiration and cultivation speed. The card is effective for 2 hours.

'Happy cultivating.'

5X Amplification Card!

His cultivation abilities were equivalent to three Old Jiangs!

The moment the amplification card was activated, Fang Lang's eyes abruptly shot open and his pupils constricted.

The next second, Fang Lang could feel every pore of his skin morphing into tiny vortexes that sucked in the naturally-occurring spiritual energy in the air. The mid-grade spirit crystal in his hands let out a thunderous sound like waves crashing against the shore. Spiritual energy poured into his veins!

Pain!

Bone-piercing pain!

It was the torment one would experience when spiritual energy overflowed in one's meridians, causing them to swell up with pain!

Green smoke billowed above his head as if his entire body was on fire.

He followed Ni Wen's advice to alleviate the pain, yet it was still unbearable.

Even so, Fang Lang clenched his teeth and pushed through without slacking. After all, cultivation was meant to be tough!

No pain no gain!

Hum.

In Triple Binding Mode, silhouettes of Jiang Linglong, Ni Wen and Liu Bubai sat around Fang Lang, copying his every move, his every breath!

After an hour, the mid-grade spirit crystal in his hands was nothing but debris. It crumbled into tiny pieces, scattering all over the floor.

Little beads of perspiration clung onto Fang Lang's forehead.

He spat out a mouthful of stale air. Fang Lang grabbed a low-grade spirit crystal and continued the absorption process.

He went through the low-grade spirit crystals at a much faster rate than the mid-grade spirit crystal.

In 15 minutes, he was able to drain seven to eight low-grade crystals!

Two hours went by in a flash. The effect of the 5X Amplification Card dwindled. Spiritual energy coursed within his body. Husks of the emptied spirit crystals surrounded Fang Lang. He looked as if he had just been fished out from the ocean.

Nonetheless, he planned to only take a short break. He got up for a sip of water then continued absorbing the spirit crystals.

Before he knew it, the pitter-patter of rain outside faded.

Silence set in as the night grew darker.

After an entire night of rain, the blue sky greeted the next day.

After his morning shower, Fang Lang felt incredibly refreshed. Despite being spiritually exhausted from the long night of cultivating, the joy of gaining improved cultivation abilities and the brimming spiritual energy in his body lifted his spirits.

Unfortunately, Fang Lang still had not reached the ninth grade. The amount of spiritual energy needed to advance from an eighth-grade sword disciple to a ninth-grade sword disciple was simply a lot. Even with all the cultivation resources provided by the System, Fang Lang was not confident he could reach the ninth grade.

After having breakfast with Old Fang, Fang Lang left the Fang Manor and headed for the academy.

It was as if last night's incident was nothing special. Like the passing clouds in the sky, it left not a trace of impact on him.

Jade Pavilion.

Illusion area.

Yu Xiao's ample breasts bobbed up and down as she exited the scene from the past. Hints of shock could be seen on her beautiful face.

She was observing the scene of Fang Lang's test flight. Fang Lang's exciting and familiar method of maneuvering the flight sword had truly left her flabbergasted.

The way he dove with the flight sword was a skill only professional flight sword riders could perform!

Even so, what surprised her the most was the final sprint Fang Lang performed in the last scene.

At first, she did not understand how he did it, but after an entire night of repeated watching and observing, she figured out that Fang Lang had altered the flight sword rune of the Meteor at the very last moment!

After the alteration, the Meteor was able to achieve such impressive acceleration!

It was an acceleration rune that was new to the Jade Pavilion!

Not far away from her, the rune master was dancing in joy.

"Yu Xiao! It's a type of never-before-seen Tang Dynasty flight sword rune! How mysterious! How exciting! You must get your hands on the rune No, it would be best if we recruit this boy as a guest researcher for the Jade Pavilion's flight sword rune division!

"If we can master this rune, the Jade Pavilion may stand a chance against the well-established sects that specialize in flight swords. We could compete with the Four Rings Tower and the Galloping Horse Valley!" the rune master exclaimed excitedly.

Manager Yu's eyes sparkled. She understood this was an opportunity for the Jade Pavilion to soar above the others.

A distance away.

The two martial arts masters Manager Yu sent out had returned. They reported to her the fierce battle that took place in the entertainment house the night before.

Hearing that, Manager Yu instantly felt annoyed and upset.

She had missed an opportunity.

She had missed an opportunity to win Fang Lang's favor, which would have made it much easier for her to coax him into becoming a guest researcher for the Jade Pavilion's flight rune division.

After all, a helping hand during a crisis meant more than icing on the cake.

Dong!

Dong!

The musty smell of books pervaded the academy the moment the timekeeper rang the bell.

Another day of cultivating had begun.

Sitting behind a desk, Mentor Wen held a porcelain cup in his hand as he taught the class. Some dried wolfberries floated in the hot tea in his cup.

"Let's revisit some demon tongue today.

"I'll tell you which demon tongues are most likely to appear in the Imperial Examination. Make sure you mark and remember them. It will come out in the exam," Mentor Wen said calmly.

The green-robed students sitting below were all listening attentively. From time to time, they picked up their ink-filled writing brushes to draw circles and make markings on their textbooks.

As the Imperial Examination drew closer, students had their hearts in their mouths. No one dared to relax too much.

Even Fang Lang paid attention in class.

His goal was the highest achievementin order to do that, he had to excel in every subject.

Thus, both the combat score and theory score were equally important.

The first period ended in a flash.

Mentor Wen banged his wooden gavel lightly. He scanned the room and said with a smile, "In three days, Luojiang Academy will hold the last internal examination. After three years of studying cultivation, this will be your final academy examination."

The students who were eager to leave the study hall quieted down after hearing Mentor Wen's words, their excitement to leave momentarily abandoned.

Mentor Wen tapped his fingers on the table. "You can consider this last internal exam as a warm-up for the Imperial Examination. Let me give you all some good newsthe headmaster has personally applied for the usage of the Spirit Pagoda from the Minister of Rites. The top fifty students in the coming internal exam will be given access to the Spirit Pagoda.

"The Spirit Pagoda is a structure constructed from spirit crystals of the highest grade. It is embellished with energy-gathering runes that are constantly absorbing the natural spiritual energy in the environment. Copious amount of spiritual energy resides within the pagoda. Every academy has a chance to apply for the Spirit Pagoda every five years. This time, we managed to secure it right before the Imperial Examination. It is the final support Luojiang Academy can provide you.

"So don't try to hide your true abilities during the coming exam.

"Only those who stand out can receive the offered resources.

"Children, the path of cultivation is a long one. You must seize every opportunity that comes your way."

Mentor Wen smiled as he spoke. He took a sip from his cup. As he chewed on the dried wolfberries in his mouth, his gaze darted to Fang Lang who sat among the students. A profound look appeared in his eyes.

'Still hiding your strength?'

Fang Lang had the ability to kill even Lin Yun. That boy sure knew how to hide his strength. Even Mentor Wen could not perceive the depths of his power.

The Spirit Pagoda should be enough to force the boy to reveal his limits, right?

Mentor Wen swallowed the wolfberries on his tongue. He turned around and left humming a tune.

The students watched as their mentor descended the study block. In an instant, chatter broke out within the classroom.

Rectangular wooden block used by a magistrate to strike the table in calling for attention or order; not hammer-shaped gavel commonly seen in court.