Chapter 40: Isn’t Getting First Place as Easy as Having Hands?

Back when he first set off for the unknown world, Jiang Li had been filled with excitement, but now, he felt just as dejected.

This gray world couldn’t spark even the slightest interest in him.

A world with only two things—what was there to be excited about?

The only use for this world was for Jiang Li to attempt his tribulation here in the future and see if ascension was possible.

Maybe this world was connected to the Celestial Realm.

Jiang Li could only console himself with this thought.

The system had already recorded the coordinates of the gray world. If he spent just over fifty thousand Source Points, he could return anytime.

For Jiang Li, who could casually write Mahayana Stage cultivation techniques, Source Points were like an open vault—he could take as much as he wanted.

What? There were people out there doing missions just for fifty Source Points? No way. Absolutely not.

Jiang Li internally denied it with all his might.

His Remote Communication Talisman vibrated, and he answered.

“Brother Jiang, I’ve got results from the investigation you asked for. All the former Human Sovereign candidates claim no one on their side has ever seen the black-robed man,” reported another commander from the Human Sovereign Hall.

“That’s strange.”

Jiang Li couldn’t figure it out. Why was the black-robed man so certain that he would become the Human Sovereign? Or was he really just spreading demonic cultivation?

“Then go to Tianji Tower and issue a commission. Their network is extensive. Have them investigate who passed the demonic cultivation technique to Jiang Yixing three hundred and eighty years ago.”

“Yes.”

Jiang Li opened multiple spatial rifts in succession, but there was no system notification about discovering an unknown world. It seemed that finding the gray world on his first try had been pure luck.

A few days later, the system released a new mission.

【New Mission: The Great Zhou Imperial Academy is about to begin its admissions process. Among its four preparatory academies, sixty percent of their students successfully enroll in the Imperial Academy. However, you are not from one of these academies, and their students mock you for it. Please achieve first place in the entrance exam.】

【This mission can be abandoned.】

【Mission Rewards: One drop of True Dragon Blood, one Demon Beast Transformation Pill, and unlock the special mission “Celestial Realm Mystery.”】

“Hmm?”

Jiang Li automatically ignored the True Dragon Blood and Demon Beast Transformation Pill. Instead, he asked, “What is ‘Celestial Realm Mystery’?”

【The mission has not been activated. The host has no right to know.】

Although this system was as frustrating as ever, it had never lied. If it said it could teleport him through space, then it could. If it said it would give him something, then he would get it. Since this mission was named “Celestial Realm Mystery,” didn’t that mean completing it would lead him to the Celestial Realm?

Seeing this special mission made Jiang Li itch with anticipation—he decided to take it.

Besides, the Great Zhou Imperial Academy… it had been a while since he last visited.

Jiang Li was actually a student of the Imperial Academy. It was there that he met Ji Zhi, back when Ji Zhi was just a prince.

At that time, Jiang Li had just broken through to the Foundation Establishment Stage when he was hunted down. Forced into a desperate situation, he burned his Five-Element Spiritual Root with a resolve to die, aiming to take his pursuers down with him.

His opponents were utterly shocked. Burning one’s spiritual root—only a madman would do that! It was true that burning a spiritual root could unleash immense power in a short time, but the risk was enormous. Nine times out of ten, it led to death. Even if someone miraculously survived, they would become a mortal with no spiritual energy.

In the Nine Provinces, losing one’s spiritual root was worse than death!

But Jiang Li neither died nor became a mortal. Instead, he forced his Heavenly Spiritual Root to awaken early.

The Heavenly Spiritual Root naturally concealed itself, displaying as a Five-Element Spiritual Root to the outside world. Normally, it would only awaken when a cultivator reached the Nascent Soul Stage, after which they would soar to greatness.

Heavenly Spiritual Roots were already rare. Cultivating with a Five-Element Spiritual Root until the Nascent Soul Stage was even more difficult. The combination of these two factors meant that even in a thousand years, a single Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivator might not appear.

Yet, there had never been a case where burning a Five-Element Spiritual Root caused the Heavenly Spiritual Root to awaken early.

Jiang Li found himself reverting from Early Foundation Establishment back to the Ninth Level of Qi Refining—but with a more solid foundation. Even stranger, after some cultivation, he somehow reached the Tenth Level of Qi Refining?!

Where did the tenth level come from?!

If he kept cultivating like this, what if he reached the twentieth level? Would he even be able to establish his foundation?!

Jiang Li couldn’t understand his own transformation. He heard that the Great Zhou Imperial Academy had the largest collection of books in the empire, so he went there to find answers.

Though he didn’t find the exact book he needed, he did learn systematic cultivation knowledge at the academy. Using theoretical analysis, he deduced that he had a Heavenly Spiritual Root that had awakened early.

After becoming the Human Sovereign, Jiang Li returned to the academy every thirty years to hold lectures, repaying the debt of knowledge he owed.

……

“How fast time flies… In the blink of an eye, five hundred years have passed. I left the academy as a student, and now I’m still a student.”

It was admissions season. Scholars from all over the nation flocked to the academy for the entrance exams, and the inns were packed to capacity.

Jiang Li spent a fortune renting a nearby inn in preparation for the exam.

His previous system reward had unlocked the “Source Point Reading” feature, and now the next mission required him to take first place in the entrance exam. The implication was obvious—it was encouraging him to use this new ability to study and ace the test.

But Jiang Li found it laughable.

Back then, he had topped the entrance exam without relying on the system. Five hundred years later, he was now a Mahayana Stage cultivator with vast knowledge and experience. Wouldn’t handling a mere entrance exam be as easy as flipping his hand?

Using the system for this would be an insult to his intelligence!

The Great Zhou Imperial Academy had a long and storied history, dating back to the founding of the empire. It occupied an enormous area in a prime location within the capital, yet no one dared to complain about the land it took. After all, every past emperor of Great Zhou had graduated from this academy.

Because of this, lodging in the vicinity was outrageously expensive, far beyond the means of ordinary people. Most students had to share cramped rooms with three or four others, studying diligently day and night.

Even students from the four preparatory academies were engrossed in their studies.

Jiang Li, however, strolled around leisurely with his hands behind his back, completely at ease—an odd contrast to the tense, studious atmosphere around him.

Some people found his attitude irritating and were about to mock him when their companions pulled them back.

“What are you doing? Why are you stopping me? I can’t stand these slackers!”

“Are you stupid from all that studying? Someone like him obviously has confidence in his abilities!”

Another companion chimed in, “Think about the top students in our academy—none of them seem to study that hard. They sigh and complain after every test, yet when the results come out, they’re always at the top.”

“Yeah, yeah! They sleep through class more than anyone, then after the exam, they say, ‘I messed up this question, got that one wrong.’ I always thought, ‘So that’s all it takes to be first place,’ but when the results came out, they were still first, and I was still dead last.”

The would-be mocker paused and realized the truth. Right… no one would come all the way to take the Imperial Academy’s entrance exam just to slack off.

That was close. He had almost set himself up for embarrassment. Better to focus on studying and avoid sticking his neck out for a slap.