Chapter 225: Treasure Vault

Upon arriving at the classroom, Chen Mobai found there was still some time before class began. He took a seat by the window and opened his phone, ready to check the ninety-nine unread messages in his Moments feed.

However, before he could even look, two students from his department approached him, performed an ancient bow, and congratulated him on successfully establishing his foundation. Unable to refuse, Chen Mobai stood up and returned the greeting. It was then that he finally understood the meaning of being burdened by fame.

Just as he was about to sit down, another classmate who had just entered spotted him and jogged over, their face filled with admiration.

It wasn't until class started that Chen Mobai finally got a reprieve. He multitasked, diligently listening to Che Yucheng's lecture while playing on his phone underneath the desk. Having successfully established his foundation, his spiritual sense had tripled, allowing his learning efficiency to far surpass his previous qi-refining stage, even when multitasking.

Chen Mobai opened his Moments feed and saw many familiar profile pictures.

Lu Hongsheng: "Old Chen, I'm going to use you to show off. You don't mind, do you?"

Chen Mobai scrolled down and saw Lu Hongsheng's post from last night: "Congratulations to my good brother for successfully establishing his foundation in his fourth year at the Martial Artifact Daoist Academy!" There was also a photo of the two of them from high school. Rounding up, it basically meant Lu Hongsheng was showing off. Chen Mobai was speechless but couldn't resist liking the post.

Mo Simin: "Impressive! Remember to treat us when you come back this year."

Kong Feichen: "?"

Shi Yuanqing, Shi Jingjing, and other classmates from the same school sent their congratulations. Chan Si, Shen Juanxiu, Luan Jingsheng, and other friends also sent congratulatory messages. When they had gone their separate ways in the past, they had expressed hope that they would all have established their foundations by their next meeting. The beautiful Yan had to first improve her Ice Spiritual Root, saying it might be more than ten years before they could meet again. Chen Mobai recalled this cold joke when he saw her reply, remembering the simple and beautiful times back in high school.

"Are you coming back this year?"

Thinking of this, Chen Mobai couldn't resist sending her a private message. He realized their last conversation had been almost two years ago, when Yan Bingxuan had returned to Danxia City and invited him out for grilled fish with Mo Simin. Unfortunately, Chen Mobai hadn't returned that year because Chen Xinglan had failed to establish his foundation.

"Cultivation knows no time; how quickly it passes."

Yan Bingxuan replied, "I don't know, possibly." Her subtle reply brought a slight smile to Chen Mobai's face. When it came to things he was interested in, his emotional intelligence quickly reached its peak.

"I'm coming back this year. We haven't seen each other in ages. Let's all get together."

After these two simple sentences, Chen Mobai's inner joy soared.

Just then, a girl with a pink pig profile picture sent him a message: "Congratulations on successfully establishing your foundation, Senior Chen! Do you still remember me?"

Chen Mobai checked the memo: Shi Wanyu. He immediately recalled the beautiful girl he had met on the train during his first year of school.

"Thank you. Of course, I remember you, Shi Wanyu. What a beautiful name."

After replying, Chen Mobai immediately refocused on his chat with Yan Bingxuan. He didn't know that upon seeing the message, Shi Wanyu's heart was pounding, her fair, pretty face flushed, and she held her phone, overwhelmed with excitement.

"He still remembers me!"

After a long while, she couldn't resist editing and sending another message.

The entire morning's Puppet Arts class passed with Chen Mobai continuously checking and replying to messages. Eventually, Qing Nü also joined in, asking him for specific details about establishing his foundation. Chen Mobai multitasked, telling Qing Nü all about the issues he encountered during his foundation establishment and the key techniques for the Critical Method. Qing Nü seemed genuinely curious, asking very detailed questions.

"Class dismissed!"

It wasn't until Che Yucheng emphatically announced "Class dismissed!" from the podium that Chen Mobai snapped back to reality. He remembered that this teacher had promised to give him private instruction today. Seeing many classmates about to approach him for a chat, Chen Mobai immediately grabbed his belongings and, feigning a need for further instruction, followed Che Yucheng off the podium, making a quick escape.

"No wonder I've attended classes at the Daoist Academy for four years and rarely seen any senior students who've established their foundation," Chen Mobai said in Che Yucheng's office. He placed the Formless Puppet on the table and, making himself at home, began preparing tea. "If every class was this enthusiastic, it would truly be a bit overwhelming."

"The reason they don't appear isn't because they dislike socializing," Che Yucheng explained, "but because they don't want to miss out on the opportunities in the Myriad Treasures Cave."

"Myriad Treasures Cave? What's that place?" Chen Mobai asked. When in doubt, ask – especially since Che Yucheng was now his officially recognized teacher.

"It's the core of the spiritual vein of Mount Chicheng, what you students call 'the back mountain'," Che Yucheng clarified. "The Myriad Treasures Cave contains tens of thousands of magical artifacts of Rank 2 or higher. For thousands of years, graduating students of the Martial Artifact Daoist Academy have, after their passing, donated their artifacts, creating the Immortal Sect's foremost artifact treasury. Besides the Rank 2 artifacts, there are over a hundred Rank 3 ones, and even a few Rank 4 artifacts. The dean's Scarlet Heart Treasure Mirror was unearthed from the Myriad Treasures Cave. It was with the help of this artifact that he cultivated the 'Three Unifications Treatise' and subsequently formed his Golden Core and Nascent Soul."

Chen Mobai's eyes widened in astonishment upon hearing this. At the Divine Wood Sect, he had already swept through three thousand Qi Refining disciples with the aid of a single Rank 2 flying sword. And the back mountain of the Martial Artifact Daoist Academy actually held tens of thousands of them!

"Teacher, I've established my foundation now. Can I go into the Myriad Treasures Cave to choose an artifact?"

"The Academy has a rule," Che Yucheng replied. "You can enter if you meet three conditions, and you can choose one artifact based on your fortune."

Chen Mobai immediately handed the brewed tea to Che Yucheng. The latter took it, slowly took a sip, and only then, under Chen Mobai's anxious gaze, began to speak unhurriedly. "First, you must be a student of the Daoist Academy. Second, you must have successfully established your foundation. Third, you must have accumulated 100 academic credits."

Chen Mobai immediately calculated his credits mentally. In the first semester, he earned 11 points; courses passed via makeup exams didn't count for credits. Thanks to the Spirit Enlightenment Pill, he passed all courses in the second and third semesters, totaling 28 credits, plus the guaranteed 14 credits this semester. In total, he only had 53 credits, which was far from enough.

"Teacher, can there be an exception?" Chen Mobai began to regret his laziness for not taking more elective courses over the past two years.

"The rules are there for a reason," Che Yucheng said, with a troubled expression. "As the Director of Academic Affairs, I absolutely cannot actively break them."

"Ah, now I understand why the average time for foundation establishment at the Academy is after the sixth year," Chen Mobai sighed. "It's because of that 100-credit limit." Chen Mobai continued to sigh. Even if he enrolled in a dozen courses next year to quickly accumulate credits, he would still have to wait until the end of his fifth year, or his sixth year, to enter the Myriad Treasures Cave.

"Why are you so slow?" Che Yucheng said, rolling his eyes at Chen Mobai. "Didn't you notice Zhongli Tianyu already entered the back mountain last year?" Seeing Chen Mobai wasn't catching on, Che Yucheng could only glare at him and bring it up himself.

"Huh, that's right! Teacher, that doesn't add up," Chen Mobai exclaimed. "How did he get in? Did he really accumulate 100 credits in just two semesters? That's impossible!"