Chapter 155 - Spirit Metal (1/2)
At the Southern Royal War Academy, the days all looked the same. The tremendous physical and mental pressure imposed on students by the tight rhythm of lessons was felt from the first days. If it hadn't been for the restoration of spirit power donated by the exceptional meals served in the canteen, it was in doubt whether the students could have continued in that way. Soon, Hei and the others began to lose track of time.
Fortunately, there would be a day off every three days to recover from previous labors. But even so, it wasn't like there were no people to train. In fact, very few people decided to relax all day. After all, they weren't there to go on vacation, and every minute, every second more of training was a determining factor in their future. The same was true for Hei as well.
During the days off, Hei would have kept the morning without training sessions to go to the Library instead. As the name suggested, that place contained books of all kinds regarding the world of martial artists and information on the Sun Empire. There, Hei, in the company of his little sisters and Lian, would have spent hours and hours on the books to deepen their knowledge of alchemy and formations and other facts about the empire.
The structure of the Library was simple - long shelves containing an infinite number of books that students could take and read in one of the many desks set up for the structure. The books without contribution points provided general information on the selected topic. As for the combat techniques manuals, including elemental techniques, these could be required through a payment of contribution points. It should be said, however, that buying the manuals didn't ensure the immediate learning of the technique, they only served as a reference during training. It was, in fact, to the understanding of the martial artist to reproduce what was written there.
In addition to the manuals and books, the Library also contained another interesting object - Spirit Registration Spheres. It was the name given to the circular object created with a special crystal. Their function was to be able to record what happened around the crystal at 360° while it was active. They were mainly used by the Martial Artists Historians, which was a subclass of a less widespread martial artist category who delighted themselves in recording the various events they witnessed. It was necessary to know that in addition to secondary activities, there were tertiary activities that had no direct use in war but were still relevant in the education of new martial artists.
The Spirit Registration Spheres contained recordings of battles between martial artists of various ranks, ranging from spirit soldiers to fights between spirit emperors. The price of the Spirit Registration Spheres was high, but those who could afford it would be able to witness the battles of the geniuses of the past and have the opportunity to gather insights on how to improve. Hei was also interested, but since he had to depend entirely on himself for everything, he had to be thrifty with his contribution points.
Fortunately, he possessed the Secret Dimension within the Heart. Although he couldn't cultivate inside, for now, he could still use it as a place to plant rare plant seeds. Being a terrain in its own right and practically fueled with spirit power provided by the Heart, the soil had an extreme degree of purity. So growing plants there was therefore feasible. In that way, he could collect contribution points for acquiring manuals of combat techniques. After all, he also had Ye and Xing to think about, and they needed to learn moves based on their Elemental Laws.
As for the afternoon of the days off, Hei would have had a group training session with Lian, Leon, and everyone else. As promised to them, Hei had revealed the true form of his little sisters to his companions, who were very surprised at that sight. The most astonished amid all of them was Lang; anyway, all of them accepted Ye and Xing without problems. Gradually, therefore, they got used to the real form of Ye and Xing and the contrast with their cute petite form.
So the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months. Except for the accident on the first day he arrived, Hei didn't encounter any other accidents, devoting himself entirely to his training. Unexpectedly, the difficulty of advancing after reaching the rank of spirit soldier had increased dramatically. Although he had the cultivation method taught by Bao Bei and a large number of spirit stones and other resources, and although there was a higher amount of spirit power on the Continent, his speed was no longer as before. It wasn't only true for him but all the other students as well, including the members of the Eight Big Families and the Imperial Prince.
After six months at the academy, the cultivation level reached by Hei and his companions was the following.
Hei, early third stage spirit soldier;
Lian, early third stage spirit soldier;
Leon, middle third stage spirit soldier;
Haruno, middle second stage spirit soldier;
Mareo, middle second stage spirit soldier;
Lilian, high second stage spirit soldier;
Mia, high second stage spirit soldier;
Lang, early third stage spirit soldier;
He Fen, early third stage spirit soldier.
As for the three spirit beasts, Ye, Xing, and Fenrir, they had a strength comparable to that of their tamers, that is to say, early third stage spirit soldier. And since six months had passed, it was finally time for one of the tests assigned by the Southern Royal War Academy to evaluate the results achieved by its students.
”As you well know, two assessment tests are scheduled for the first year. These aren't only important because they will decide whether you have the qualifications to remain here or not but above all for the contribution points rewards that will be provided to you. As you know, at the Exchange Center, you have the opportunity to exchange your contribution points for any object you want. The rarer the object, the higher the cost.”
Song Yazhu was standing in front of the class of nearly five thousand people who made up the first year. In these six months, the teacher assigned by the Sun Empire for the first academic year of the Southern Royal War Academy had been uncompromising, severely punishing those who dared to laze during lessons. And although the lessons on the Elemental Laws were individual or in pairs without the supervision of a teacher, Song Yazhu could see with a glance who had trained seriously and who hadn't. As a result, the number of retreats that could no longer withstand the extreme pressure of academic life had exceeded one hundred.
”The objects displayed in the Exchange Centers are quite common in general; there aren't extremely valuable resources. However, in view of the academic tests, the Empire provides materials from its own treasury, which cannot be purchased elsewhere, thus making them very rare. And the Empire this year has decided to supply spirit metal ingots in addition to other resources. Therefore, whoever has the required number of contribution points can have a weapon created with spirit metal.”
After listening to the words' spirit metal', most students widened their eyes and mouths as if they couldn't believe it. An incredible excitement could be seen in their faces.
”Regarding the spirit metal, for those who don't know, it is the most precious metal existing in nature. The Sun Empire directly controls every mine of spirit metal, and whoever is caught stealing even a single fragment is punished with death. The reason for the spirit metal's value isn't so much for its strength or flexibility or another important characteristic for blacksmiths. If you are looking for these parameters, there are more suitable metals to use as a basis for your weapons. However, spirit metal is the only metal capable of growing.