Chapter 152: Temporary Rescue Team

For some reason, when the words "Scripture Pavilion" reached Long Kun's ears, Xu Yang and the other three felt an unusual energy fluctuation.

"That place is not for new students. Since you asked, I can tell you about it. Simply put, to gain access to the Scripture Pavilion, you must meet three requirements.

First, you must qualify as a Third-Level Military Guard in the Yuanyang Empire, the current sponsor of Saint Soul Academy. You can use your student status to join the reserve army. Then, during your spare time, you can go to the battlefield with them, carry out missions, and accumulate points to advance your military rank.

The second requirement is to rank among the top ten in the periodic combat test held within the academy every three months.

The third requirement is to pass the exclusive test administered by the Scripture Pavilion's manager.”

“Damn it... This is the first time I've heard it's so difficult to access a library in an academy. Isn't this limiting students' development? Which academy's library isn't freely open to students?”

Long Kun shrugged helplessly. “The Saint Soul Academy's Scripture Pavilion is different from ordinary libraries. You'll understand later. As for the restricted access, it's a requirement from the Yuanyang Empire, our sponsor. If spies from other empires were to infiltrate and steal important cultivation techniques, it would pose a threat to the empire itself.”

Xu Yang nodded. “Understood. Thank you, Teacher Long Kun. What about our cultivation lessons...”

Long Kun tapped his foot on the ground. “I'm in this stone tower every day; I eat and live here. Whenever you want to cultivate and need guidance, just come find me. There are no fixed time requirements, as few people come here for lessons, and there's no unified assembly from the academy, so feel free to come as you please.”

Xu Yang and the others were speechless at once. It had to be said that Saint Soul Academy was truly open-minded, but on second thought, such an arrangement and hands-off management style were quite humane. On this continent, many cultivators with low comprehension might never break through the Golden Core realm in their entire lives. Therefore, not all students enrolling in the academy were young; in fact, over half were adults. They also had their own jobs and affairs to attend to on weekdays, so managing them according to a unified time schedule was clearly unrealistic.

“Alright, next, let's go report to the Yuanyang Empire's reserve forces. It's crucial to accumulate military merits quickly!”

As Xu Yang spoke, the three goddesses naturally had no objections.

Since the academy regulated separate accommodations for males and females, Xu Yang decided that for convenience of action, the four of them would continue living in their spirit ship. This way, they wouldn't interact much with the academy's teachers and students. Their true goal was simply to meet the three conditions and gain access to the Scripture Pavilion as quickly as possible.

“Come, come, reserve recruits, register here!”

At the Yuanyang Empire's reserve assembly point, there was a long queue of at least seven or eight hundred people, all young cultivators from within the empire coming to exchange military merits for mission participation.

Although some time was wasted, Xu Yang and the other three finally successfully obtained their enlistment qualifications, and headed straight to the mission board to receive their respective operational tasks.

“C-rank missions: five hundred merits. B-rank missions: two thousand merits. A-rank missions: ten thousand merits! S-rank missions: fifty thousand merits!”

As Ling Qingshu counted them one by one, everyone basically understood the rules for accepting missions.

To advance from an ordinary recruit to a Third-Level Military Guard, one needed to accumulate one hundred thousand merits, which meant completing two S-rank missions or ten A-rank missions!

“My goodness, there isn't a single S-rank mission? Don't tell me they're that poor, are they?”

Bai Lianxue scanned across a dozen mission boards but couldn't find a single S-rank mission. She couldn't help but murmur, only to be mocked by some new recruits nearby.

“With your frail physique, you want to take an S-rank mission? Don't be ridiculous, pal. Those missions are theoretically only for Military Guards of rank three or higher. Not only is it highly unlikely for us to get one, even if you did, could you complete it?”

Bai Lianxue snorted with a laugh, sweeping her fist towards a massive boulder next to the base. The boulder instantly crumbled, showcasing her peak Nascent Soul realm strength.

“Who dares to cause trouble in the military camp!”

A rough, deep voice came from inside the gate, and a tall, powerful individual who looked like a leader emerged. Xu Yang observed his aura and saw that he was a mid-level Sky Cavern realm cultivator. Although Xu Yang could easily dispatch a whole group of such individuals with a single finger, as the saying goes, "when under someone's roof, one must bow one's head." To complete the mission as soon as possible, he had to keep a low profile.

“It's us!”

Xu Yang, neither servile nor overbearing, immediately led the three goddesses forward to meet him.

“General, we request to undertake an S-rank mission. However, there are no missions of that difficulty level on the board. We don't know how long we'll have to wait before...”

“Report! General Hu, Warhawk Squad One encountered an attack by a high-level demonic beast horde at the northwest entrance of the Demonic Beast Jungle. They are trapped in a valley and request reinforcement. It appears to be a sudden, unprovoked rampage by a group of demonic beasts that launched a surprise attack on them.”

Just then, a sentry returned to report. Xu Yang smiled and cupped his fists at the general in front of him.

“General, may I know if the difficulty of this rescue operation could be considered S-rank?”

General Hu looked at Xu Yang. “Rescue missions are generally not issued externally. Only Military Guards of rank five or higher are qualified to participate. You few...”

Xu Yang knew that words alone wouldn't be convincing. In a moment of urgency, he suddenly darted forward with a burst of speed, instantly appearing before the general.

“My apologies!”

With a light palm strike from Xu Yang, the general found himself completely unable to move a muscle and was lifted into the air.

“How dare you!!”

Nearly a hundred busy soldiers nearby swarmed forward, but with a gentle wave of Xu Yang's other hand, all their weapons, without exception, were instinctively drawn towards Xu Yang, melting into a massive sphere of steel before him.

“My heavens... This guy actually possesses such powerful strength?”

“It's unimaginable! The students of Saint Soul Academy are truly unfathomable!”

“As expected of the Yuanyang Empire's most esteemed premier academy, they are truly extraordinary!”

After achieving his aim, Xu Yang gently set General Hu back down on the ground.

“Please forgive my offense just now, General. Let the four of us handle this rescue mission. In the future, if you have any special missions, feel free to assign them to us.”

General Hu felt a wave of lingering fear and instinctively gasped. “Alright, I'll give you this chance to prove yourselves! If the four of you can truly rescue my Warhawk Squad, I will make you Fifth-Level Military Guards!”

Xu Yang and the others were overjoyed to hear this, as it would save them a lot of trouble. A few restless demonic beasts were like mere ants to Xu Yang and his companions...

“Then, General, please await our good news.”