Chapter 2: Turtle Shell

School benefits were indeed the best! A first-tier superior-grade spiritual energy cultivation room, available for free for two hours every day.

Chen Mobai recalled how, during the holiday, his mother had gritted her teeth and used merit points to upgrade their home's earth vein spiritual energy to first-tier superior grade, just so he could achieve a breakthrough. Even then, the spiritual energy value was usually only 7, occasionally fluctuating to 8 or 9. This Immortal Sect Fifth High School, however, was built upon a third-tier inferior-grade spiritual vein, with a total of three hundred cultivation rooms established. After all, these students were the future flowers of the Immortal Sect; they couldn't be left wanting. The three hundred cultivation rooms were divided equally: one hundred each for first, second, and third-year high school students, corresponding to first-tier inferior, mid-grade, and superior-grade spiritual energy, respectively. The third-year students worked the hardest, and the spiritual energy concentration in their cultivation rooms was already at the pinnacle of the first tier.

The cultivation room was extremely simple: square-shaped, with only a meditation cushion on the bluestone floor in the center. Chen Mobai wasted no time. He put his phone away, activated the assisted cultivation recording mode, and sat cross-legged on the cushion, beginning to refine spiritual energy. Since he had just broken through to the fifth level of Qi Refining, and that too with the help of elixirs, his realm was not yet stable. For these two hours, he didn't practice the Five Elements Internal Cultivation; instead, he simply performed the most basic Qi Nurturing Art.

Streams of warm current circulated through his meridians. The light white spiritual energy in the cultivation room, almost turning into mist, surged into Chen Mobai's mouth and nose like a long dragon. It merged with his newly enhanced spiritual power, slowly refining and integrating, transforming into his true strength. He immediately became immersed in this sensation, unable to pull himself away. Time flowed slowly.

"Ding!"

The Soul-Calming Spell in the cultivation room awakened Chen Mobai from his practice. Though he was reluctant to leave, he thought of the classmates who had been waiting in line outside for a long time. He could only pick up his phone and slowly, reluctantly, walked out of the cultivation room. The moment he emerged, a female classmate waiting behind him immediately rushed in, swiping her card and closing the door in one fluid motion. It wasn't just him; the other ninety-nine third-year students also reluctantly exited their cultivation rooms. Among them was Lu Hongsheng, Chen Mobai's deskmate.

"Oh, lucky you, managing to grab a spot in the first batch."

After exchanging greetings, Chen Mobai noticed that Lu Hongsheng's eyes were somewhat gloomy, and he seemed unhappy. "Do you know what I just saw?"

"What?"

Chen Mobai knew Lu Hongsheng couldn't keep a secret and waited a moment. Sure enough, Lu Hongsheng volunteered the information. "I saw Song Zheng enter a second-tier spiritual vein cultivation room."

"A second-tier spiritual vein? Aren't those exclusive to teachers? Who gave their cultivation room to Song Zheng?"

Within the school, there were naturally not just student cultivation rooms, but also high-end cultivation rooms exclusive to teachers. Aside from the third-tier cultivation room reserved for the Headmaster, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, even teachers had to queue for the other ten second-tier cultivation rooms. For Song Zheng to be able to enter a second-tier cultivation room meant that a teacher had given their cultivation resources to him.

"Who else could it be? Old Man Ding, of course. He failed Foundation Establishment twice and doesn't have much time left. He's completely devoted himself to the education cause. Seeing Song Zheng's potential to enter one of the Four Great Dao Academies, he gave his share of the second-tier cultivation room to him."

As he spoke, Lu Hongsheng was filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment. He wished he were Song Zheng. "That's so unfair! The school should do something about it," one of their male classmates, who had overheard their conversation, said indignantly.

Although there was little fairness to speak of in society, within the school, the higher-ups tacitly maintained an outward appearance of fairness and justice. While a teacher giving cultivation resources to a student was from the teacher's own share, the true ownership of the cultivation room still belonged to the school. For other students, this was already unfair, and if reported to the academic affairs office, it could at least stir up a commotion.

"What do you know?" a female classmate said, looking displeased, to the male student who wanted to report it. "I heard that during the holiday, Student Song Zheng formally became Teacher Ding's disciple and was registered in the Immortal Sect Ministry of Education's Hall of Inheritance. They are now officially master and disciple. A master giving resources to a disciple, even the academic affairs office can't really interfere."

Song Zheng had good looks and was a young genius, making him quite popular among the girls. Chen Mobai also felt envious. If he could cultivate on a second-tier spiritual vein for a semester, he was confident he could reach the sixth level of Qi Refining. Students at that realm might not get into the Four Great Dao Academies, but entering a second-tier academy would be possible, and a third-tier academy would be an easy choice. He also possessed a True Spiritual Root, so why hadn't any teacher taken an interest in him? It could only be said that even among those with True Spiritual Roots, there were differences in potential.

"You guys chat, I'm heading home. See you tomorrow."

Chen Mobai still had ambition. Although he also felt the unfairness inwardly, he had no intention of getting involved in these disputes. After his free time in the school's cultivation room was up, he hurried home. After all, his mother had rarely spent so much to lease a first-tier superior-grade spiritual vein for half a year, all for him to achieve good results in his college entrance exams. He couldn't afford to waste it.

Upon returning home, the house was empty. His parents were working hard to support the family. Especially after leasing the spiritual vein for half a year in one go, they had even more overtime, only returning home very late each day. Chen Mobai first cooked a pot of spiritual rice, then, in his mother's studio, he cut large sheets of yellow paper into standard small talisman papers, 12cm long and 6cm wide. By the time the spiritual rice was cooked, Chen Mobai had already cut over a hundred blank talisman papers. He counted them into stacks of 12, folded each stack neatly, then tied them with special spiritual string. Six stacks were arranged into two piles and placed into a packaging box.

These large talisman papers cost 1 merit point. Once cut and packaged, they could be sold for 2 merit points, meaning each box earned about 1 merit point in labor costs. To help with household expenses, Chen Mobai did what work he could. He neatly arranged the two freshly packaged boxes of talisman papers on the table, adding them to the eight boxes he had cut previously, making a round total of ten boxes that filled the entire large table. He took out his phone, captured over a dozen photos from different angles, then selected a few of the better-looking ones and uploaded them to the online trading market officially opened by the Immortal Sect. Normally, bids would gradually come in within a week, and Chen Mobai would then choose the highest bidder to sell to. Since he couldn't afford teleportation fees, his items were limited to in-person transactions within Danxia City. Transportation was well-developed within the city, and he could ride for free with his student card.

After finishing the plump, jade-like grains of spiritual rice, Chen Mobai performed a cleaning spell, tidying up all the pots, bowls, and utensils, and then entered his bedroom. Although the family had a dedicated cultivation room near the underground spiritual vein conduit that transported spiritual energy, Chen Mobai still preferred to practice Qi in his own room. After all, if the cultivation room door was left open, the first-tier superior-grade spiritual energy would spread to every room in the entire house. Even with the windows open, the house's overall spirit-sealing formation would firmly lock the earth vein spiritual energy within the rooms, so there was no need to worry about waste. Of course, precisely because the area was expanded, the spiritual energy concentration in the house was not as high as in the school's cultivation rooms. But Chen Mobai was already very content.

He firmly resisted the urge to browse his phone and watch live streams, pushing away thoughts of dancing and singing "little fairies." He calmed his mind, sat cross-legged on his bed, and prepared to cultivate. Suddenly, he noticed the turtle shell on his nightstand.

"Mom, really! How did this unlucky thing get brought here?"