Chapter 131: Chapter 131: Participation Award

"I plan to visit Jade Dew Hall tomorrow to purchase a suitable Cyan Splendor Stabilizing Essence Spirit Guide," he said, a confident smile appearing on his face. "Its attribute aligns with the mutual generation of wood and water, making it perfect for harmonizing my two streams of Spiritual Qi. If everything goes smoothly, I should be able to attempt breaking through the Profound Tier bottleneck by next week."

As soon as these words were spoken, low gasps echoed from the surrounding crowd.

A faintly imperceptible look of approval surfaced on Qin Zhenyue’s stern face. He nodded and said, "Not bad. With a solid foundation, premium Spiritual Qi, and proper harmony, the Profound Tier is well within sight. I hope you guard against arrogance and impatience, and focus on stabilizing your realm."

Liu Suifeng also smiled. "Congratulations. Only upon entering the Profound Tier do you truly step onto the starting line of the Great Dao. May your progress in the Sword Dao be just as swift and courageous in the future."

"Thank you, Teacher Qin, Teacher Liu!"

Student Chen bowed solemnly once more. He then turned around and cupped his fist toward the excited members of the Wind and Cloud Society behind him. "This serendipitous encounter is all thanks to the strong support of my brothers! I offer my deepest gratitude! I will definitely repay the borrowed funds as soon as possible!"

"You’re too polite, Senior Brother Chen!"

"Congratulations, Senior Brother!"

"Our Wind and Cloud Society is about to produce another Profound Tier expert!"

The crowd from the Wind and Cloud Society responded with smiles, the atmosphere lively and passionate.

The other surrounding students watched the high-spirited Senior Brother Chen leave while being surrounded by his peers. Comparing him to themselves, their feelings were complex and hard to put into words.

"Wow... We were just taking classes in the same room a moment ago, and next week he’ll be heading to the Profound Tier Skill Transmission Hall..."

"69% progress... Two streams of premium-grade Spiritual Qi... Sigh."

"There’s no use being jealous. He already had a good foundation, he had his society’s support, and his luck came at the right time..."

"Yeah, we’d better just... take it one step at a time."

"Only to realize the other guy took off in an airplane."

"...That hurts."

Having witnessed the shocking scene of the trio’s breakthrough, the crowd passionately discussed the matter as they trickled back into the Skill Transmission Hall.

For the rest of the day, conversations inside and outside the classrooms revolved almost entirely around the phrase "Spiritual Qi."

Many students, especially the upperclassmen, wore a greater sense of urgency on their faces.

"No, I have to start saving money immediately. Seventy million... No, I need at least eighty million in my bank account. If I encounter this kind of opportunity again, I absolutely cannot miss it because of a lack of funds!"

"Exactly. No one knows when the next phenomenon will appear. What if it’s tomorrow? Having money in hand keeps the panic at bay."

"Sigh, seventy million... Even if my family emptied their pockets, they might not be able to scrape that much together. I’ll have to find a way to earn it myself, or get an advance from the society..."

With the emergence of the three streams of Xuanyuan True Water Qi, a sense of unprecedented desire and anxiety for resources seemed to permeate the entire academy.

When school ended, Fan Yutong called out to Fang Chen. "Junior Brother Fang, let’s go. We’re dropping by the Liuyun Society."

"Alright," Fang Chen nodded in agreement.

As the two walked side by side away from the teaching building, Fan Yutong took the initiative to explain. "It’s about the academy ranking tournament. We need to hold a meeting to discuss the allocation of our society’s three internal recommendation quotas."

"Senior Sister Fan," Fang Chen asked, "are these three quotas completely up to our Liuyun Society to decide?"

"In name, yes," Fan Yutong said with a smile. "The academy delegates the selection power to the societies to let us coordinate internally and reduce open conflicts. However, there are still quite a few fights over it every year. The way I see it, the academy is just too lazy to handle it themselves. Among the major societies in our academy, the quotas are basically fixed: five for the Wind and Cloud Society, three for our Liuyun Society, and two for the Canglan Society."

She lowered her voice slightly. "However, these three quotas of ours aren’t entirely for our exclusive use. We have an alliance with the Jinyi Society, Black Tortoise Society, and Cyan Simurgh Society, since we’re on good terms. These three quotas are shared among our four societies, and we coordinate internally. Of course, our Liuyun Society is guaranteed to keep at least one—that’s the absolute minimum."

Fang Chen understood. "Then how exactly are they distributed? Through arena battles?"

"Based on contribution," Fan Yutong said. "They are auctioned using Club Points. Last year, the internal competition for a single quota reached around 1,800 points. I estimate it will be about the same this year."

Fang Chen fell deep in thought. "It is somewhat like DKP or GKP," he thought.

"You can also buy them directly with money," Fan Yutong continued. "Ten thousand Zhao Coins can be exchanged for one Club Point. However, if it’s purely for a quota in the ranking tournament, anything over 1,800 points isn’t worth it."

"Not worth it?" Fang Chen asked, slightly puzzled.

"Right." Fan Yutong counted on her fingers for him. "The reason everyone fights tooth and nail to participate in this ranking tournament is actually because they’ve got their eyes on the ’participation prize.’ As long as you represent the academy in Jing’an City, even if you don’t win a single match, the Jing’an Martial Arts Academy will give everyone a standard set of weapons or combat suits as a consolation prize. You see, exchanging for that exact same set of equipment in our society’s warehouse would cost 2,000 points, or the equivalent of twenty million Zhao Coins.

"If you use more than 1,800 points to internally bid for a quota, even if you get it, the value of the prize you receive is still only around twenty million. You wouldn’t make much profit. You’d be better off doing what you did and renting the equipment from the society for a few years," she added, looking at him.

Fang Chen understood the underlying logic. "So, bidding for a quota at around 1,800 points is roughly equal to the prize’s value—you neither gain nor lose. The main goal is to gamble for an opportunity to visit a higher platform, gain experience, and potentially win better rewards."

"Exactly!" Fan Yutong gave him an appreciative look. "Furthermore, if you get lucky and win a match or two during the ranking tournament, the academy and the people over in Jing’an will offer even better rewards. That’s when you’ll really strike it rich."

Fang Chen looked at Fan Yutong. "Then I presume your points are already sufficient, Senior Sister Fan?"

A bright and slightly smug smile immediately bloomed on Fan Yutong’s face. "Hehe, I was originally falling a bit short. But... Junior Brother, you are my great God of Wealth!"

"Me?"

"That’s right! Because I successfully recruited a newcomer with immense potential like you to join the society, they rewarded me with a one-time bonus of 300 points!" Fan Yutong patted Fang Chen’s shoulder. "Now, my points are securely over 1,800. Claiming a quota this year is practically guaranteed!"

Sensing what Fang Chen was thinking, she looked at him and spoke in a sincere tone. "But don’t be anxious. It’s still early for you, and your accumulation has only just begun. After the meeting tonight, I’ll list out a few of our society’s internal tasks and methods that are the fastest and most cost-effective ways to earn points. With your strength and mindset, if you manage things well, you’ll absolutely be qualified to compete for a ranking tournament quota around this time next year!"

Fang Chen nodded, but a greater doubt lingered in his heart.

"Is everyone just participating in the ranking tournament to farm points?" he wondered. "Has no one thought about actually trying to push to the top?"

"Senior Sister Fan, I’d like to ask," Fang Chen said. "In the previous tournaments, has anyone from our academy ever fought their way into the province’s top ten?"

Hearing Fang Chen’s question, Fan Yutong immediately understood. "Haha, Junior Brother Fang, during the martial arts examination, you must have heard that director mention that our academy ranks in the top five of the province, and occasionally the top four, which made you feel that our academy was pretty formidable, right?

"Yes, while our academy isn’t considered bad in the province, it can only be considered upper-middle tier. Compared to the top three, basically all the top ten spots are monopolized by those three academies. We don’t stand a chance.

"As for us, our greatest hope is to be matched up against Martial Artists from the other six academies. If we can steal a win, we consider our mission accomplished!"

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